


Eliot's Historic Retrieval

by ladysian



Series: Eliot's surprises [1]
Category: Leverage
Genre: All of the bad tags are for very explicit scenes, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Biting, Cherokee Eliot, Cherokee Jayda, Claiming, Eliot Whump, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Explicit Rape, Explicit Sexual Content, Explicit Torture, Explicit gang rape, F/M, Fisting, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt/Comfort, I've named Quinn Sean, Knotting, Masturbation, Mating, Memories, Mutual Masturbation, Non-Consensual Bondage, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Non-Consensual Touching, Non-Consensual Violence, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Non-consensual Sodomy, Oral Sex, Other, Porn, Proposals, Reunions, Secrets Revealed, Sex, Talk of Character Death, Talk of Pregnancy, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Torture, Unrealistic use of choloform, Use of foreign objects, Vaginal Sex, Verbal child abuse, Werewolf/Human Relationship, abuse as a standard facet of life, emotional child abuse, female sexual dysfunction, kidfic - kinda, physically and psychologically, talk of abuse by a spouse, talk of miscarriage, talk of provoking a miscarriage, talk of violence against a child character, violence against a female character, violent child abuse, werewolf eliot, werewolf/human sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 23:56:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 42
Words: 349,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8347846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladysian/pseuds/ladysian
Summary: After a job is brought to the team by a childhood friend of Eliot's the group sets out to save a seven year old from kidnappers.The Leverage team learn lots of things they never suspected about Eliot and his life before being a hitter and thief.Along the way Eliot finally gets what his wolf has wanted for a long time and gets some surprises he never expected too.Containing families and their histories, sex, violence, and some (hopefully) interesting plot twists.This fic has some VERY dark themes and VERY explicit scenes, please be aware of the warnings.This fic is the first in a series, which should it go to plan will incorporate the MCU in the next few stories.





	1. Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first fic I've EVER written.
> 
> I'm not too happy with the sex scenes so expect them to be revised and replaced at a future date once I've had more practice writing them.
> 
> This is the first chapter of a multi chapter fic, I'm writing chapter four at the moment so it should be updated and possibly even finished really soon, but I am writing on an iPad so bare with me.
> 
> I'd really, really love for people's comments, opinions and constructive criticism, as I'm just starting and could use the guidance.
> 
> So after writing twelve chapters I realise I've been using the wrong spelling of the name Hardison, so I've gone through the whole thing (God it's long) and changed them, I'm gonna upload the changed chapters but not right now cause it's the middle of the night and I have a headache, if when you see I have you notice any I've missed please let me know in the comments and I'll fix it, thank you, darlin's.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Eliot gets a surprise and the others meet someone important from his past.
> 
> The team are recruited for a job back where Eliot grew up. 
> 
> There's just a little (huge) bit of sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a huge chapter! at this point I'm just finishing chapter twelve (and I'm nowhere near finished) and I think this is the longest chapter at over 10,000 words, chapter twelve might be longer I'm not sure yet, but for now I just wanted to let you know they're not all this long.
> 
> This is my first ever fic, i'd really love feedback, but try to be kind but honest, please?
> 
> And finally thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy and stay with me!

Eliot added more fresh chillies to the pot bubbling on the stove in front of him in the brewpub kitchen, he always made everything spicier before and during his rut, he was in pre-rut at the moment, but only for a couple more hours then he'd get really bad with the spices, he really couldn't help it, he was just trying to burn out his sense of smell so that he wouldn't go nuts over every female that walked through the door, always trying to find that one scent he always wanted but couldn't have, the scent of homelovemate, it was embarrassing to lose control of himself so much, even if no one else realised it, but at least it was only a week every three months, not as bad as women had to deal with after all, he often mused.

Suddenly he raised his head, the hint of scent he'd caught making his eyes widen before shaking his head and telling himself he was imagining it, that scent couldn't be here, would never be here, it was just wishful thinking on his rut-brain's part, it happened every rut without fail, he'd think it was her and then be disappointed, God he hated rut-brain.

Just a minute later Parker sticks her head around the kitchen door, looking quickly around the room before her gaze settles on Eliot "there's someone here" she announces, tipping her head to one side like she's staring at a puzzle she's trying to figure out.

"There's lots of people here Parker, it's a pub" Eliot replied exasperatedly.

"No, someone who wants our help, but she asked for you" Parker states as if this is the most confusing thing she's ever come across.

"Did you find out who she was while you were out there?" Eliot enquired while washing his hands before removing his chefs jacket and hanging it up and following Parker out of the kitchen.

"Nope, but she is pretty" Parker says over her shoulder while skipping ahead, but instead of heading for the usual 'client interview table' she headed for the doors leading to the HQ main briefing room.

"Hey!" He yelps after her whilst grabbing her wrist to stop her from opening the doors "why are we meetin' her in HQ instead of in the bar?" He demanded to know of the thief turned mastermind.

"Because Hardison said so" she replied as if that was the logical answer to all questions, which come to think of it was probably exactly what she believed, decided Eliot, shrugging as he followed her through the door, before stopping dead and his head snapping up so fast he heard something in his neck crack alarmingly loudly.

"Eliot! man, what took you so long? We have a guest!" Hardison snapped as he caught sight of Eliot stood stock still just staring at the back of said guest.

As he stared at really long dark brown, auburn streaked hair with purple and blue ends, leading down past a very generous pair of hips and a lovely squeezable ass - one that yes looked rather familiar - perched on one of the bar stools at the briefing table, his heart didn't know whether to drop or rise or just clench up and stop altogether at the thought 'it's her!' Because now was the best time, but the worst time and if she needed help then even more so of both...

"What are you doin' here, Jayda?" Eliot finally growled out making Hardison bug his eyes out at him in his 'BE POLITE!' Look.

Turning slowly Jayda looked at Eliot at about mid-chest, eyes never flickering up to his face. 

"I need your help Eliot, there is no-one else I can ask" she replied, chewing on her bottom lip harshly "Please" she added, begging, and he knew then that no matter what she wanted or needed he would get it for her, he would lay down and die if it was the only way - all in all, he was totally screwed.

"Well how about you tell us what you need?" Eliot calmly said, trying to repress all the thoughts and memories that were shooting through his brain and his heart all at once, whilst moving to sit next to her.

"To put it as simply as possible, my niece Sarah has been kidnapped and a huge ransom has been demanded, my sister can't afford to pay it but I can, problem there being A, they don't know I have that kind of money and B, I'm pretty sure the kidnappers will just kill her when they get their money, so I'm not willin' to pay unless I can be SURE she comes out of it alive and as unharmed as possible, the police are useless and I know for a fact that there is no-one better at retrieval or K&R jobs than you, Eliot, I know I owe you an explanation in private about my past actions, but for the sake of an innocent seven year old girl, please help me, please Eliot" as she finishes speaking her bottom lip starts to tremble until she starts to viciously chew on it again.

Eliot couldn't help but notice that even though she turned to him to speak her eyes still never came up from staring at his chest, it was like she was either avoiding his eyes or trying to stare straight into his chest to see his heart, he shook his head sharply at the thought telling his wolf to 'back down, now was so NOT the time!'

"Okay, just give us a few minutes to talk over logistics and we'll be back, do you want a drink?" Eliot asked her kindly, only just holding himself back from taking her hand to comfort her, knowing from what had happened the last time they met that there was a good chance it wouldn't be welcome.

"Yeah, you know my drink" she replied trying to quirk a smile but not quite managing it.

"Alright, come on you two" he said as he shepherded his two colleagues out of HQ and into the bar, closing the doors behind him.

Eliot went straight to the bar and spoke with the barman on duty, ordering a double JD and Coke to be taken through to the back room, before nodding and then dragging the others into the hallway leading to the kitchen doors.

"So I'm takin' this job" Eliot started as Parker opened her mouth to speak "i'd like you both to come help me but if you don't want to then that's ok, I'll do it alone, but either way I'm doin' it".

Parker raised her eyebrows at him questioningly to make sure he was finished before speaking "so we're going, we decided it the minute she said a child was in danger" Parker declared while Hardison nodded along.

"But there is one question" Hardison added "how do you know her? Is she one of your stewardesses?"

"Flight attendants, Hardison, they like to be called flight attendants" Eliot repeated yet again exasperatedly, "and no that's not how I know her, I grew up with her, she was my best friend until I turned 17 and met Aimee" Eliot snapped out.

"Oh right 'best friends' til Aimee came along" Hardinson said nudging Parker with his elbow.

"No!" Eliot replied "it's not... it wasn't like that... we were just best friends..." he sort of deflates and trails off towards the end, looking sad and well... wistful, Hardison can't help thinking, then he visibly shakes the feeling off and growls "c'mon then" to the pair of confused thieves who are looking at each other as if they've never seen Eliot before in their lives.

"what?" He asks looking from one to the other before Parker says very brightly "we just didn't know you had any best friends! I bet she's got some great stories..." as she sprints off ahead of the two men back to the Briefing room.

Eliot and Hardinson arrive back at the room just in time to hear Parker tell Jayda they'd take the job, but she wanted to hear stories about teenaged Eliot along the way, this time Jayda managed a small smile and promised "only the juiciest, most embarrassin', hilarious stories" she knows, at which Eliot blushes a spectacular shade of red muttering "dammit, Jayda" under his breath while she knocks back her whole drink in one go.

After giving Hardison all the information she has regarding her niece Sarah, her other niece Jane who was not abducted, her sister Ruby and her sisters husband Jared White Hawk, the kidnapping and all contact received since, Jayda came over to where Eliot was checking his go-bag over.

"Eliot, I think maybe we should talk before we start travellin', so that everythin' is cleared between us" even though Jayda spoke in a low tone only just above a whisper he knew what his teammates were like and that they were as nosey as hell, so he didn't want to have this conversation where they could listen in, he knew the one place in the brewpub where there were definitely no bugs or cameras was in his suite upstairs, so he quietly said "follow me" and led her up the stairs, once they were in his bedroom he turned to her "sorry about this but it's the only place the nosey bastards haven't bugged to hell" he smirks as he says it but notices she still isn't looking past his chest, so he tries a new angle "you know if I was a woman i'd be royally pissed off that you've done nuthin' but stare at my rack since you got here, my eyes are up here!"

Jayda's eyes snapped up to his face, mouth dropping open in shock before clamping her bottom lip back between her teeth and frowning at him, it was almost as intimidating as one of his glares, she must have been practicing.

"So do you wanna start or should I?" Eliot asked gently, reaching out to take her hand before pulling back at the last second when he realised what he was about to do, again.

"Me first" Jayda started, tangling her fingers together in front of her stomach "if I don't go first there's a good chance I'll lose my nerve" she nearly whispers before letting out an almost hysterical giggle.

Jayda took a deep breath, letting her memories of the last time they saw each other flash past behind her eyes, starting with him saving her from a bullet and ending with her sneaking out of a hotel room door in the middle of the night, after finally bedding the man she'd loved her whole life, all without saying goodbye or leaving him a note.

"I was wrong, what I did to you and I'm sorry, I would have taken it back every day since then, but I didn't know where you were until the last few months and by then I figured it was too late, so I stayed away." She lets out on one long breath while bringing her arms up into a self hugging gesture, it broke his heart to see it, he hadn't seen her do that since she was ten and finally started to accept herself.

"Jayda..." Eliot started before being overrun 

"I shouldn't have left the way I did, after everythin' we'd been through that day, and somehow managed to survive, not to mention that I finally got what I always wanted and didn't even say thanks for takin' pity on me, but I knew your reputation with women and I couldn't bare to be walked out on, I know that makes me the worst kinda hypocrite but I just couldn't...." Jayda takes a deep breath to carry on, but lets out a hurt sounding sob as Eliot wraps his arms around her and says "shush, enough, stop" while hugging her as tightly as he can without hurting her, burying his face in her neck and hair and finally doing what he'd been holding back from since the minute he saw her, he takes a huge, deep, lung-busting breath of her scent, breathing her in like he hasn't done for nearly a decade.

"Eliot..."

"No, I said stop, no more of this, ok? My turn... I was hurt that you left, but I was more hurt you didn't leave me a number to reach you on, especially after the day we just had and what i'd seen you could do - I could have used your help on a few jobs since then y'know - as for takin pity on you? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK is that meant to mean?, I don't take people to bed out of pity, EVER, and I told you that night why I did, I did it because I...." Jayda Stops him with her fingers over his lips.

"Don't say it, please don't say it unless you are sure, I know you wouldn't lie to me on purpose but you gotta be sure, not just high on sex and adrenaline like you were that night..."

Eliot takes her hand, kisses her fingertips, then slides his fingers between hers, before looking her dead in the eye and saying "you get kicked by a horse and not tell me? Because the Jayda I know would never be that dense as to think I would say what I did and not mean it to the soles of my boots!"

Letting out a gusting sigh Eliot leans forwards and downwards til his forehead leans against hers, still looking her in the eye he whispered "mate"

"B..b...but I'm not a wolf!" Jayda bursts out tearfully "how can I be your mate?"

"Well A, you just are and B, as I was sayin' before, an' told you that night, because I love you" Eliot replies smiling before continuing "I always have by the way, I was just too stupid to notice at 17, hope you'll forgive me for that, darlin', but you've always smelt like homelovemate to me, ALWAYS, I just didn't know what it meant when I was a kid" Eliot smirks sheepishly at her before leaning in and kissing her, his arms still wrapped loosely around her chest, stroking up and down her spine as what started as a gentle kiss becomes deeper and more heated, his tongue running along the seam of her lips gently, begging for entrance, which she grants eagerly, allowing him to taste her slowly as she caresses his tongue with her own before allowing him to thrust his tongue into her mouth rhythmically, showing her what he wants to use his whole body to do, Eliot also tightens his hold around her into a strong hug, pulling her tight against him, while her hands rise from being around her own ribs to stroking his neck and cheeks where she knows his scent glands are, to rub in the sweat that was starting to form on him, to help her begin to smell more like him, accepting his claim on her, after a time they had to separate for air, but only far enough to separate their lips, still keeping their foreheads together and staring into each other's eyes.

"Well how about we forgive each other then?, you for bein' dense and me for sneakin' out when I finally had what I wanted in the palm of my hand? Jayda replies hopefully

"I don't remember it being just in the palm of your hand!" Eliot laughs dirtily as he picks her up, still pressed against him and kisses her again, she starts squirming immediately, not liking being picked up at the best of times, but with her arms trapped between them feeling very unstable until she manages to free her arms to wrap them around Eliot's neck and then use one hand to smack him upside the head.

"What's that for?" He asks looking hurt and putting on a pout.

"For being crude when there's a lady present, twice!"Jayda replies imperiously while Eliot looks around her towards the door "what are you lookin' at?" She asks him rather perplexed by his actions.

"Lookin' for Parker, I didn't notice her come in but you said there was a lady present..." Eliot trails off into laughter as he takes another angry blow to the head

"You...you....caveman!" Jayda exclaims, fuming at the implied slight.

"Only for you princess!" Was the laughter filled reply as Eliot turns and tosses her onto the bed, grinning all the while.

"Are you gettin' ideas above your station, caveman?" Jayda asks raising an eyebrow at him, a blue eyebrow no less.

"I wouldn't dream of it princess, I like the blue by the way, it suits you"

"Oh, yeah, I do them to match my hair, or my mood, or my outfit.... you get the idea" she answers stroking one of her brows self consciously, the one that wasn't pierced he now notices.

Wanting to ask her about the piercings and other changes to her body, he opens his mouth only to shut it again with a snap as a possessive growl erupts from his chest, for a few seconds he just blanks on why he would do that, and then he realises he has his mate on his bed and he can smell another male nearby, oh this was not good the only other male would be...

"Hey El, you guys gonna be much longer I've got the briefing ready...?" Hardinson says as he taps gently on the bedroom door.

"Not now Hardinson!, we'll be down when we're ready!" Eliot growls out baring his teeth at the door, listening for Hardinson to beat a very hasty retreat, followed by a squawk as he pulls Parker along after him.

"Umm, we can go..."Jayda says tentatively before being cut off with...

"NO! I mean not yet, ok?" Eliot nearly barks at her, this is bad, he knows it's bad, he can barely keep himself under control, he's never, ever reacted like this, but he knows why, he slowly turns from the door, turning so he's facing Jayda, who's still on his bed although now she's curled up by the headboard rather than splayed across it like she was before Hardinson knocked.

"No, baby, no, I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise, I would never hurt you, please, don't be scared of me..." Eliot babbles at her as he sits on the edge of the bed and starts trying to coax her towards him.

"Not scared of you, scared for you, you idiot!" Jayda exclaims as she leaps into his arms "they don't know do they? You've never told them you're a wolf, how do you manage it?, oh god! what about when you're...." 

Eliot puts his hand over her mouth to stop her, he can't hear her say the word and not give into it, he's trying so hard, to keep that last shred of control because he doesn't want to hurt her and he knows he will, if he gives into it "please don't finish that sentence, don't say THAT word ok? I'm losing my grip here...." Eliot rests his sweat-soaked forehead against hers closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths to try to calm down, but it's the wrong thing to do, because she's so close, and she must have been a little turned on by their kisses or maybe being thrown on the bed, it doesn't matter, all that matters is he can smell her and she wants him, and he can't not have her right now.

Eliot's eyes snap open, staring into Jayda's with an intensity that's never been there before, and then she realises, he's already in rut, that's why he was growling and snarling towards the door while Hardinson was out there, he was too close to Eliot's mate during...well to put it bluntly, Eliot's mating season... 

"tell me now, tell me if you don't want this..." Eliot manages to growl out between grinding teeth, slowly pushing her down onto her back on the bed, hanging on to the last fraying thread of his control "if we do this it's gonna hurt you, I won't be able to help it or stop it, if you don't want this, just run now...." he stops as a high pitched whine starts coming from his throat as words completely leave him.

Jayda stares into bright blue eyes with a ring of gold around the outer edge, eyes she knew so well but has never seen like this before, sees the suffering and struggle he is holding in, just so she can make this decision and says in a strong, sure voice "I want this" and then Eliot stops whining, takes a deep breath and pounces on her.

Eliot brings her to him, holding her gently but tightly against him as he kisses her, this wasn't like before though, no gentle slide into passion, this was all dominance and claiming, she was swept away by teeth nipping and tongue stroking, first at her lips and then her tongue, he runs his hands up to her shoulders, feeling the scarring on the left which wasn't there the last time he saw her, and promising himself he'll ask about that later, then running his hands down her back to the waistband of her black skintight jeans, pulling her shirt up and her tank top out of the back of the jeans before following the waistband all the way round continuing to pull out the tank top as he went, then trying to pull both shirts up and over her head at once.

"Stop! Eliot honey, you've gotta undo the top shirt a bit or you're gonna strangle me!" Jayda exclaims with a laugh in her voice.

"Uh yeah, sorry" Eliot rumbles out while pulling the shirts down and undoing the top three buttons before successfully removing them.

"Hey baby, how about we each take off our own boots, then we can get back together to do the rest, ok?" Jayda asks gently, not wanting Eliot to feel like she'd changed her mind, was rejecting him or didn't want him close.

Eliot just nods slowly and bends over to undo his boots while Jayda pulls her feet up and unzips her boots quickly before kicking them off over the side of the bed, then watching avidly the flex of the muscles in Eliot's back and thighs as he removes his, when he was done he looks up to find her staring at him, chewing her bottom lip again and he moves forward, takes hold of her head in his hands and bites her lip, hard.

"No more" he growls as he pulls back to look her in the eye and make sure she understood what he was telling her, but instead he's faced with eyes on the verge of tears looking at him confusedly, "no, don't cry, sshhh" he begs pulling her to him, holding his wolf back by taking deep lungfuls of her scent with every breath, "I didn't mean to hurt you, I just want you to stop torturin' that beautiful, sexy lip like you have been, I'm sorry if I nipped you too hard, I'm having trouble holdin' my wolf and my strength back, please forgive me baby?"

She sniffles a few times before she answers "you warned me it would hurt" she whispers with a tiny chuckle, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "now come on, I'm feelin' the state of undress is a little unfair here!"

He smiles as he crawls up onto the bed properly, kneeling facing her as she kneels to match his position, "well do somethin' about it, darlin'" he replies smiling his smug smirk at her.

"Fair enough" she says shrugging before grabbing each side of his shirt in her hands and tearing it open, buttons spraying across the room never to be seen again while Eliot just kneels there with his mouth hanging open in shock.

"I can't believe you did that! I like that shirt!" Eliot says with eyes as round as saucers, and shock written all over his face "you're gonna pay for that!" He declares before grabbing her around the waist and dragging her flush up against his body from knees to neck, kissing her aggressively while she moans into his mouth at realising that for the first time she can feel his hot, straining hardness up against her, "still too many clothes" she mumbles between kisses while trying to pull Eliot's shirt and tank off over his head, when he doesn't want to relinquish his grip on her waist, finally he lets go, lets her strip off his shirts and reaches behind her to undo her bra, just to find there's no clasp, he growls, put out that it's one of those front fastening things just to find no clasp at the front, he looks up at her at that, glare in full force - not that it's worked on her since she was seven - and growls out "how do I get this damn thing off?" 

Pressing her lips together to try and hold back the giggles and smirk that are desperate to escape her control, she snorts through her nose instead, at which Eliot narrows his eyes at her, grabs both sides of the central seam and tears the front of the bra in half, "not so funny now is it?" He growls so deeply she can feel it in her bones.

"No, not so funny, but amazingly hot? Yes, ALL of that!" She replies throwing herself into him and taking them both down onto the bed, kissing like it's a sparring match for first blood.

Eventually Eliot pulls Jayda on top of him so that he can pull the remnants of her bra off before moving her to the side and under him as he rolls over her, until he ends up straddling her hips, leaving his hands free to start rubbing his wrists at her neck, while stroking her hair and face, making her smell like minetakenclaimed, the first level of scent marking of a mated couple, before moving his hands down to play with her breasts, stroking and weighing them in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over and around the nipples - one of which he found to be pierced - before rolling them between his fingers and even pinching them gently when she asked him to, her back arching up to meet his hands, she was so perfect, her reactions just made him more sure by the moment, this was his mate, his one and only.

He leaned down dragging his teeth over her throat, growling possessively when she arched up under him again, "you like that?" He rumbled not really expecting an answer.

"Yes, god yes! Bite me there, feels so good!" She says on a sigh, Eliot knows he can't really bite down on her, he'd either kill her or scar her badly in his loss of control and that didn't bare thinking about, even in his worst nightmares, but he could nip like he did earlier to her lip, it's not like you could catch being a wolf from being bitten, those stories were just old myths to make sure wolves and humans wouldn't mix, and they worked for a long time, but life was different now and the stories were no longer needed, so why not if she's enjoying it? Just gotta be sure to control it tightly, but he could do that.

So Eliot changes the position he's laying on top of Jayda in, moving his legs to between hers so he is pinning her with his whole body, he chooses the spot where he's going to bite and licks up her neck once, making her shiver and wrap her legs around his hips tightly, he kisses the spot on her neck and then so very gently bites her there, instantly her back arches and she begs him to bite harder, so he tightens his bite just a little at a time feeling his canine teeth extending to wolf length and sucks gently on the flesh in his mouth.

Jayda starts to whine in the back of her throat and he can feel the vibrations through the flesh in his mouth and it's so good it's making his wolf purr, then suddenly she's lifting herself to rub their groins together desperately and he just grinds down, rubbing his aching dick against her hot centre as hard as he can through their jeans until her whine crescendos, after a few moments of gasping she slowly loosens her grip on him a little, which he takes as a sign to stop biting her and he gently releases her neck licking and kissing the bruised and cut area on her tan skin as she laid still underneath him.

"Jay? Are you alright? Did I hurt you?" Eliot asks into her ear, starting to worry he'd gone too far.

"Mmmm, Eliot, feel wonderful, you didn't hurt me..." she trails off with a blissed out smile, Eliot smiles back and continues to lick, kiss and nuzzle at her neck and his wolf preens at pleasing his mate while she comes back to earth.

"El? Take my jeans off will you, they're too tight to be comfortable to lay down in for too long" Jayda requests sweetly, and well, Eliot wasn't going to turn down getting her even closer to naked in his bed, his mama didn't raise an idiot!

"Sure thing, darlin'" he tells her kissing down from her neck to her chest taking each nipple into his mouth in turn, playing with one with his fingers while his mouth was busy with the other, before swapping sides, causing her to start to moan and arch under him again, eventually he remembers his reason for moving down her body in the first place and continues, kissing a line down the centre of her stomach until he reaches the button on her waistband.

"You don't need to undo 'em to get 'em off, just pull and they'll slide right down no problem" Jayda promises as she smiles down her body at him, watching as he takes hold of the belt loops and yanks the jeans down to her knees in one pull, "hey, be careful! My legs are supposed to be attached!" She taunts him with a grin as he'd dragged her down the bed a few inches in the process.

"Sorry there princess, didn't realise you were so 'delicate'" Eliot snipes back, fully removing the jeans as he does before looking up at her through his long, thick eyelashes teasingly.

"'DELICATE!' I'll show you 'delicate!'" Jayda replies clamping her legs down each side of Eliot's chest and flipping them both over, meaning that Eliot ends up flat on his back with Jayda straddling his chest and with a knee in each elbow holding his arms down, while she stares down at him with one eyebrow raised, smirking.

"You know I can get out of this right? And that I really hate bein' pinned down durin' rut?" Eliot growls out at her while looking her dead in the eyes so she could see the potential for danger in him, before bringing his hands up and grabbing her hips firmly and pulling her down the length of his body until she was sat between his thighs with hers wrapped pretty much around his waist, all in a matter of seconds, before grinning cockily and stating "you try and pull that one again and I'll have you flat on your back and pinned down, and you won't be able to get out of it, alright?"

Jayda stares over into the bright blue eyes regarding her and replies "is that a promise, Sir?" Before reaching over and pulling Eliot up to face her and into a breathtaking kiss.

Eliot brings his legs round so that he is kneeled between Jayda's legs, leaning over her as she lays back, then resting with one elbow supporting him, placed next to her head, whilst the other hand slowly moves down her front, caressing her breasts, skin and the scars he encounters, on the way to the top edge of her panties, he's just ran his thumb along the lace at the waistband when Jayda breaks away from his lips.

"Your jeans first" Jayda whispers in his ear, making him huff out a chuckle.

"Yes Ma'am" he replies straightening up so that he is kneeling upright in front of her, wishing that he'd bothered to put on some boxer briefs that morning, and feeling oddly nervous which was so strange, he hasn't been nervous about his body, nudity or sex for over twenty years, and it's not like they haven't been together before, all he could figure was that it was due to wanting to impress his mate, wanting her to find him suitable, in every way.

With hands that shake just the tiniest bit Eliot undoes the button fly on his jeans, closes his eyes and pushes them off his hips and down to his knees before quickly working them off his lower legs and returning to the position he started in, before opening his eyes and slowly looking upwards at the woman he loves beyond all reason, waiting for her judgement of his worthiness.

when his eyes finally meet hers he feels a massive wave of relief flood through him, he doesn't need to ask her if he meets her approval, it is there shining in her eyes for him to see, then she raises her arms to him and he leans down over her, kissing her like his life depends on it, arms sliding under her back and lifting until she is flush up against him, her chest crushed against him and the silk and lace of her panties rubbing teasingly against his achingly hard cock making him groan into her mouth before growling "take them off or I'll rip them off"

"Then rip them off" she breathes into his ear before running her tongue around the rim of it and biting on the lobe harshly.

"Aarrrrgggghhhh" he rasps out as he tears the fragile lace to pieces, throwing them off to the side as he nuzzles and nips at the bruise on her neck, making her groan, whine and squirm under him, before he lays her back down on the bed.

Eliot moves his attention back to kissing Jayda, before grabbing her knee and bringing her leg up and around his waist, opening her more so that he can feel her aroused wetness against his hot, bulging erection, slowly rocking his hips so that his thick cock rubbed between her lips, which he was surprised to find pierced and feeling very stimulating against the length of his shaft, while rubbing against her opening wetting himself before sliding all the way along her to her clit which he soon realised was also pierced and extremely sensitive to his touch.

Usually Eliot takes his time with a lover, has long sessions of foreplay, licking, sucking and fingering until his lover is well on their way to satisfied before he even starts to bring his dick into play, not that he doesn't have stamina, he does, it's one of the perks to being a werewolf, he just likes to know everyone comes out of the situation satisfied and happy, he's considerate that way, and it gives him and his wolf an ego boost too.

But this time was gonna be different, he can't help it, he's never taken a lover during rut, he didn't dare, he knows he'd be rougher than usual and that runs the risk of someone getting hurt, most likely his lover, he'll be a lot less considerate than usual, and he doesn't like the idea of his partner not getting off, he doesn't want to be the selfish bastard he knows he'll be during rut.

And then there is the big difference, the physiological difference that he's always been scared would hurt a human lover, the fact that during rut he developed a lupine knot when he came close to climaxing, (and finding out how that worked had been very distressing as a teenager), but now he was here with his mate, the one he's meant to share this with, but how can he when he's so sure she'll be hurt by him?

"Stop" Eliot groans, pulling his mouth away and to the side, resting his forehead against her temple, "are you sure about this? Do you remember what happens...?"

"Yes I remember, not many teenaged girls have their best male friend ask them about what's normal for a guys dick, and then follow that with the explanation of why they're being asked, it's one thing to know you're a wolf some of the time but another to know the knot carries across-species, and yes for the last time I'm sure!" Jayda interrupts him rolling her eyes, it was sweet he was worrying but by now he should know that when she makes up her mind it stays made up.

"I want you Eliot, I love you and I don't want to have to wait any longer" Jayda whisperes into Eliot's ear before tipping her hips so that Eliot's slow thrusting along her slit slides him straight inside of her in one smooth glide.

"Aaaahhhh" Eliot breathes out, feeling Jayda's inner walls wrap around him like a slick velvet glove, gripping him just right, like this was home, was where he was made to be, he paused fully inside of her for a moment, just feeling the rightness of how it felt before leaning down to whisper in her ear.

Putting all the love, passion and possessiveness he felt into the words he growls "Mate, Mine!" Before kissing her and starting to thrust again, he moves slowly, using his full length to make long, languorous thrusts, making sure to rub his pelvic bone against her, pressing her clit between them giving her more stimulation.

He has a moments thought to their lack of protection, but his wolf snarls at him that there will be nothing between them, he was to mark her as his, and Eliot figures that Jayda wouldn't do this unprotected without being on birth control anyway, so no problem, even if his wolf didn't like that idea either.

Jayda brings her hands up and is gripping onto his shoulders, trying to urge him to speed up his thrusts before moving one hand up into his hair, grabbing a handful and moving his head so that she can kiss, suck and bite at his neck, just under his ear, causing him to growl deep in his chest and make his thrusts firmer and harsher but without speeding up at all, Jayda whines high in her throat, letting go of the handful of hair and moving the hand down his back to grab at his exceptionally toned ass instead.

"Please..." Jayda begs "please... more, faster..." trailing off into a whine, pressing her forehead against his neck, short fingernails still managing to draw blood down his back and on his ass.

"Ok, yeah" Eliot replies, speaking directly into her ear, his breath raising all the hairs on her neck as he spoke.

He tenses his stomach muscles as he arches up over her again using the arm under her waist to pull her down onto him harsher and faster, leaning to take one of her nipples into his mouth, gently scraping his teeth against it before licking it gently, then sucking it harshly, learning what she likes the best.

Jayda moves her arms again so that they are wrapped around Eliot's shoulders with her hands in the back of his hair, gripping handfuls and then running her fingers through it, soothing his wolf and exciting him all at the same time.

Eliot slides his hands up from her waist so that they are cupping her shoulder blades and kisses his way from her breasts back up to her neck before whispering "hold on!" And lifting her so that she was straddled across his lap with her legs still wrapped around his waist, pushing him deeper into her and rubbing her clit against the root of his dick.

Eliot then slides one arm back down to her waist, wrapping around it firmly and lifting her against his front, causing him to slide mostly out of her before thrusting upwards back into her, whist pushing her downwards getting a deep, smooth rhythm started before nipping at her neck again, biting, kissing and sucking at the bruise he left earlier before rubbing the light amount of stubble he has over it, trying to irritate it even more to make the bruise last, not that that is what's going through his mind at this point, all he knows is 'mate, wet, tight, mine' playing like a loop through his head, his wolf is very, very happy right now, which is making most of Eliot's higher brain function shut down until later.

Jayda tips her head back, closing her eyes, while Eliot nips and kisses at her neck, gasping in breaths, feeling herself begin to tighten around him, like a wave of sparks is travelling outwards from her clit, making everything tingle and zap, causing her muscles to twitch and jump unexpectedly, she takes a big gasp in as she brings her head forward again and says against his ear "El...Eliot, I'm gonna....oh god please right there..." as he changes angle slightly, and he replies with a shark-like grin "now baby? Yeah, like that, right there, now?" Before roaring out "MINE!" And biting down on her neck, hard, as she cums, tightening around him like she is trying to cut off all circulation to his dick and soaking his balls in her cum, making him feel like she has been the one doing the claiming.

As Eliot extracts his teeth from the flesh of her neck, as gently as he can, he leans forward placing her back on the bed on her back, still slowly, gently thrusting into her, not wanting to overstimulate her but not ready to finish himself yet, he supports himself above her, using one hand to brush the hair out of her face and away from where he'd bitten her on the neck this time, higher than the first time and much more visible, her eyes flutter open to look up at him before her brows pinch and she asks him "what's wrong? why are you lookin' at me like you're upset?" After taking in his expression.

"I'm sorry" Eliot replies staring at the bite mark on her neck "I didn't mean to bite you there, like that" he apologises as he runs his hand through the roots of her hair on that side.

"El, please, don't be sorry" she begs "it felt so perfect when you bit me, just made everythin' crystal sharp for that moment, it was...mmmmmm" her description is cut off by a passionate kiss that Eliot just can't hold back from.

When he finally pulls back from the kiss to rest his forehead against hers he asks "so you like some pain with your pleasure then?" Quirking an eyebrow that she can feel against hers "why didn't you tell me? I'd have been rougher with you"

"I didn't know until now, but trust me everything's been great so far!" She smirks up at him. 

"So far is it?" He questions "well I better get on if I'm still bein' graded then!" He jokes before diving in for another breathtaking kiss whilst speeding up the action of his hips and bringing himself deeper into her, before dropping flat down on top of her and rolling to the side holding Jayda tightly to him as he does, ending up flat on his back with Jayda laid over him like a blanket.

The minute that Eliot is flat on his back he stops moving, giving Jayda the chance to take control of their love making, she slowly sits up, sliding down his length until he's fully seated inside of her, his hands resting on her hips, waiting for directions from her, she slowly, ticklingly trails her hands up from his sides until they are resting on his pecs, then, using them for balance, leans over and whispers to him "I thought you didn't like bein' pinned down when you're in rut?" As she breathes over his ear and neck.

In reply Eliot growls, grips her hips so tightly he's sure she's gonna be covered in finger shaped bruises and thrusts up into her hard and repeatedly.

"Well, I'm not actually pinned down here but we can always swap back if you don't like it, are you too 'delicate' to take control, princess?" He taunts her, knowing full well how far he's pushing his luck with the 'delicate princess' thing.

"No, I was just checking that it wasn't because you were too old and tired to carry on" she replies, flicking her long hair over her shoulder in dismissal of the idea. Making Eliot's mouth quirk up into a fond smile as he stares up at her before answering "nope not old or tired, or have you not noticed that I've been carryin' on since you leaned over me?" Giving a few hard, deep thrusts to make his point.

"Well like you said it's my turn now!" Jayda says as she starts panting again, then she sits up on him, still gripping his pecs as if they were breasts, before digging her nails into the firm muscles beneath the skin there, using them for leverage as she slowly lifts herself along his cock, before letting herself slide back down roughly a few times, then taking one hand back and sliding it down his stomach to where they are joined, using her middle fingers to separate her lips enough that he sees a flash of the metal ring she has through her clit before she grinds herself down against his pelvic bone, making her inner muscles tighten around him exquisitely, she then changes the movement of her hips from up and down, to backwards and forwards, he was still sliding in and out of her, but at an angle that made her feel a lot tighter at her opening than before, rubbing him harshly in all the right places and she was obviously getting more stimulation on the places she wanted it too, from her reactions, the change in angles had him rubbing or prodding her g-spot internally he surmised, while his pelvic bone was crushing her clit into the metal of the ring piercing it, giving her hard stimulation where she needed it to make sure she was getting the most from this position, he already knew this was going to be one of their favourite positions, something to get them both off relatively quickly if they want it to, but that wasn't what Eliot wanted now, he wanted her to get as much pleasure from him as possible, without him tipping over the edge, he knows instinctively that the wetter and more relaxed she is the easier it will be for her when his knot forms, that it will be less likely to hurt her badly if she is relaxed from pleasure and exhaustion.

After just a few minutes of Jayda swapping between sliding up and down his cock, and then rocking backwards and forwards against his pelvis, before changing back again, he can feel her tensing up, tightening around him, getting ready to cum again, her hands moving from his chest to scrabbling at his biceps for something she could grip and pull against, grinding her clit against him desperately, until she gasps out a yell of "oh god, fuck me, Eliot, NOW!" As she clamps down on him, covering his dick and balls in her cum again before collapsing bonelessly over his chest, panting, to give him kisses all over his face and neck whilst muttering "love you, mine, always, baby..." before just trailing off into nibbles to the side of his neck whilst he trails his hands up and down her spine, slowly relaxing her and allowing her to catch her breath.

After a minute or so of deep breathing Eliot feels Jayda tighten around him again before she pushes up slightly to look down into his face, "you didn't cum yet did you?" She asks him with a slight frown beginning to form between her brows "am I not doin' this right?" She asks obviously thinking there was something wrong with this.

"No, darlin', everythin' is great, I just like to take my time, it's not a race, but I am gettin' pretty close, seein' you cum like that for me very nearly killed my self control there!" He reassures her, smiling, before leaning up to give her another passionate kiss.

"So what do you want me to do?" Jayda asked with a bite to her lip and big violet eyes staring at him unsurely.

Taking in a deep breath and preemptively wincing a little Eliot replies "well, um, I guess maybe, erm... on your hands and knees?" 

To which Jayda smirks in response and says "really? 'Doggy style'? You know how cliche that sounds, right?"

"Yes, I am aware of how it sounds" Eliot answers huffily, feeling embarrassed and a little hurt at her reaction.

"Oh El, don't be mad with me! I was only pullin' your tail a bit, I didn't mean anythin' by it! I'm sorry!" Jayda says, realising she's overstepped a line she hadn't known was there, seeing the hurt flash into his eyes.

"How do you want me? Laid flat on my stomach or on my hands and knees?" She asks in a conciliatory tone looking at him with a bitten lip and an apology in her eyes.

"Hands and knees to start with" he replies quietly, looking down at his own chest while she slowly slides off him and moves to the side, not wanting Jayda to see how much her laughter has stung him, until she puts a finger under his chin and lifts his face up so that his bright blue eyes meet hers, "I'm sorry I laughed, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just was thinkin' about how much you hated being compared to a dog when we were younger and it made it seem amusin', I'm sorry" she says earnestly.

"I know" he answers taking hold of her hand and kissing the fingertips, before nipping at them gently, then pulling her in gently for a kiss.

"c'mon then" he nudges her as he sits up, ignoring her good natured huff and moving off to the side of the bed for her to find a comfortable spot and get into a good position.

She moves to the middle of the bed, half turns to look over her shoulder at him, blows him a kiss and leans down onto her forearms, curving her spine and putting her ass in the air before wiggling it at him invitingly, peeking around her shoulder to see his reaction.

His eyes go so wide she can see the whites all around the irises, even from where she was, and his tongue darts out to wet his lips before taking a deep breath in through his nose and letting his eyes slowly close, enjoying the massive dose of her scent he just got from her being in this position, so open and wet for him.

Eliot's eyes slowly open and there is no blue at all anymore, only gold shining down as he drinks in the sight of his mate, presenting to him, wanting him, he can't take it anymore, he needs her, to make her forever his, so he moves forward, draping himself over her back and kissing the back of her neck, causing her to sigh as his hands move down over her arms to her hands, linking their fingers together and then putting his weight on them, holding her under himself as he rubs the head of his dick against her wet opening, before sliding into her as far as he could go, growling at the feeling of homewettightmateclaimed, starting to thrust into her harshly, his hips moving roughly against her ass, before he stops every dozen or so thrusts to circle his hips while pressed into her tightly, grinding over her g-spot, making sparks shoot through her, while rubbing the sensitive underside of the head of his cock over her cervix, rubbing hard right where he wants it, giving him the sensation of his heart pounding in his dick, before starting to thrust again, even faster and harsher than before, his head spinning at the feeling of all the blood in his body leaving his head and rushing to his cock, mixed with the strong scent of his mate excited for him it made him want to satisfy her completely before filling her with his cum.

After a few cycles of thrusting and grinding Jayda starts to whimper and squirm, trying to thrust back against him as he brings her closer to the edge, but he wants her to stay still, he's getting close, finally getting ready to finish and he doesn't want her to get away from him, so his wolf fully takes control, shoving Eliot the man out of the way and doing what Eliot the wolf knows needs to be done, he leans over her, opens his mouth and takes hold of the back of her neck securely, just like a wolf would to a pup, and just like a pup would Jayda instantly goes completely still, realising this could be dangerous if she fights it, all through this Eliot hasn't stopped or slowed once, still thrusting into her fiercely causing her to whine even louder as she gets closer to her climax.

He's just starting to grind into her again when he feels the stretching, tingling, burning feeling at the base of his cock that means his knot is expanding, and it's like a relief as he feels it, knowing that he's going to mark her, make her his, in a way he's never done to anyone before, he releases his bite on her neck, licking at the teeth marks in apology, she can't get away now even if she wants to, he is near fully expanded inside of her and he can feel her squeezing down on him, tightening around him, feeling so perfect, he just has to get her to fall over the edge and he knows she will drag him with her, deciding on his course of action he gently untangles one hand from its grip on hers and whilst still grinding into her, brings it up to her breast and pinches at the nipple, making her gasp and tighten again, before running it down her chest and stomach, until he can reach between her legs and gently pinch her clit between his fingers, rolling it until the ring is right between his fingers and squeezing firmly, causing her to scream out "OH GOD, ELIOT, YES!" As she cums, shaking and tightening around him, squeezing his knot in much the same way as he has just squeezed her clit, feeling like a firework was going off inside his knot and his balls, forcing a loud growl out of his locked throat as he finally cums, the pressure of his cum shooting out of him making his eyes roll back into his head and his hips rock into Jayda as much as his knot would allow, breathing harshly onto the back of her neck, before wrapping both arms around her chest and hugging her tightly, then slowly lowering them both down to lay on their sides while they are locked together as he continues to cum in rhythmic spurts inside of her.

"Hey, you ok? Did I hurt you?" Eliot whispers when both their panting has evened out into deep breaths, dreading her answer a little.

"I'm awesome and no you didn't hurt me" Jayda answers "why would you think you had?" She asks

"I was worried that my knot would be too big for you and hurt you, you are human after all you're not made to accept a knot" Eliot answers embarrassedly 

"Sweetheart, the chances of that were very unlikely, we do tend to stretch there, you know, so babies will fit and everythin', and as well endowed as you might be your not as big as a babies head" she tells him gently before looking over her shoulder at him as he turns bright red, embarrassed he'd never thought of that, then Jayda quirks an eyebrow "but how much longer is this goin' to last for?" She asks squeezing down on his knot that's still lodged firmly inside of her.

"Longer if you keep doin' that" Eliot answers, gasping, as he shudders through another orgasm, causing him to spurt again from her stimulation on his knot.

"Oh, sorry!" She answers, twisting her upper body a little to get a better view of him "I just wondered how long we'd be laid here, and I want a kiss, not to mention your teammates are waitin' after all" Jayda points out, sounding a little guilty.

"Don't worry about them, they've kept me waitin' enough times while they were screwin' around, they can wait for once" Eliot tells her, without realising the true reason for her guilt, and leans over her to kiss her as best he can from this angle.

"But what about Sarah? We've been here doin' this while I should have been tryin' to get her back!" Jayda replies looking distraught.

"Shhh, darlin' it's ok, while we've been up here Hardison has been findin' out shit even you don't know about your family, all towards helpin' us get Sarah back ok?" Eliot soothes her, kissing her again before pulling her back against his chest and snuggling into the back of her neck, hugging her around the waist after pulling the blanket up from the foot of the bed and covering them both with it "have a nap while we're stuck together like this ok?" He suggests hoping she'll get a little rest while they have the chance, but it's quite a while until Jayda drifts into a doze, worrying what Hardinson might find out.

Eliot wakes to a rather uncomfortable feeling of sliminess covering his groin and a cold draft where there should be a warm body next to him, looking around the room he sees no sign of Jayda and for just a moment he fears she's left him again before registering the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, accompanied by quiet grumbling that he can't quite make out.

"Jay?" Eliot calls out, not really wanting to move right away.

"Yeah?" She replies sticking her head around the door and smiling at him "what's up?" 

"Err... just checkin' is all" Eliot answers feeling a little guilty for thinking she'd leave again. "What you mumblin' about in there?" He asks

"Just cursin' you and your werewolf genes" she answers lightly as she pulls back around the door.

"What did I do now?" He asks indignantly, just before being hit in the chest with a warm damp washcloth.

"The amount of mess you made, is what you did, I'm assumin' you'd like the washcloth before tryin' to walk to the bathroom, otherwise it's rather messy, as i'd guess you know and I've now found out - thanks for the warnin' by the way" Jayda says as she leans against the bathroom doorframe with her arms crossed, completely naked.

"Oh yeah, erm... sorry? I didn't really think about it with the surprise of your visit and all, and it's only this bad during rut, can you put somethin' on? You're really distractin' me and we don't have time to do this again right now..." Eliot mumbles out as he stares at the floor in front of her feet.

"Oh, yeah, ok, sorry, I only comment because wakin' up slimy is not so great and I don't remember it bein' so messy last time, but I know now for future reference" Jayda says as she moves over to the pile of clothes on the floor, picking up her tangled together tops and starting to work them apart, Eliot smiling shyly at the promise of there being a 'next time'.

Eliot gives himself a quick clean with the washcloth and then comes over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind to put his chin over her shoulder and say "you do know that I want to again, it's just we have a more urgent matter right now, right?" Gently rubbing his half hard cock between her ass cheeks.

"Yeah I can tell and I know why too so behave ok? I'll make it up to you tonight, I promise" she laughs turning in his arms to give him a kiss before stepping back and pulling her tank top back on.

"What are you gonna do about your lack of underwear?" Eliot inquires curiously as he realises he destroyed all the underwear she had been wearing.

"Well the tank has a built in bra, it's not as good as a sports bra but it'll do til I get home, not like I'm expectin' to have to fight for my life in the next twelve hours, and well I thought i'd borrow a pair of my boyfriends boxers since he saw fit to rip my knickers off me..." she answers winking at him cheekily.

"Oh, right, yeah, here you go" Eliot replies going to his chest of draws and pulling out two pairs of boxers, while his ears turn red so Jayda can still tell he was blushing even from behind him, after handing one pair to her to put on he went into the bathroom to get properly cleaned up and put his pair on, while Jayda finishes getting dressed.

When Eliot comes out of the bathroom he finds Jayda sat on the edge of the bed braiding her hair in a way that made all the coloured ends streak through the length of it so that it created a look of it being more dyed than it was.

"That's really nice" he tells her, walking past to pick up his clothes to get redressed. "how long is your hair exactly?" He asks as he dresses, realising that even braided it only just missed the floor while she was sat on the bed.

"Somewhere between below my knee and mid calf" she answers, "I haven't cut it in over eight years" she comments whilst continuing to do more elaborate things with the braid that seem to be making it appear shorter.

"Impressive" he comments before he just has to ask "but doesn't it get in the way? Like when you're workin'? God knows people will grab at anythin' when your fightin' them in our line of work"

"Doesn't yours? I deal with it in my own ways just like I'm sure you do, it's just somethin' that's there and anyone who tries to use it against me is gonna be in for one hell of a nasty shock" she shrugs, dismissing any threat that could come of her hair being so long, "I'm ready if you are" she says, sliding her boots on and zipping them up, then standing and putting her arms around his waist and kissing him "lets go find Sarah, ok?"

"After you" Eliot says running his hand down her spine as she turns to the door, letting it come to rest at the small of her back as they step out of his room, 'where it belongs' he can't help thinking with a small smile before following Jayda down the stairs and into the briefing room.


	2. The Background

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot, Hardinson and Jayda go over the information Hardinson has come up with and Jayda is forced to answer some questions she really wanted to avoid before the gang get moving towards Kentucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this chapter has no sex in it, so sorry about that, but it will tell you about Jayda's family history which will come in important later in the story.
> 
> I need to confess that not only am I not a Native American, I'm not even American, I'm English, so I've taken creative license with all the things Native American, from their history and culture, to in later chapters their history as a people and the other cultures they have come across pre-European invasion.
> 
> I mean no disrespect, it's a culture I would love to learn about as I find it fascinating, however that has not been possible at this time so please take no offence.
> 
> If you read this and think it's OK or anything other than complete garbage, please leave me a comment or at least kudos so I know people want me to continue, as it's really knocked my confidence that I've had a decent number of views but no one has seen fit to leave kudos, it's the least I do when I've read something that has been decent or better, it's only polite and costs you nothing.

"Hey" Eliot greets as he leads Jayda back into the briefing room by the hand, taking her to the desk and bar stools that faced Hardison's giant screen, and sitting her in the same seat as earlier, noticing her slight wince as she sits down, he leans forward to whisper "you ok darlin'?" 

"Yeah, just a tiny bit tender is all, we did kinda go at it rather roughly y'know?" She leans in to whisper back, smirking as Hardison turns to face them.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?" He yells when he gets a good look at Jayda, not really being able to miss the huge bite mark on the side of her neck facing him "dude, doing that to a woman is not acceptable!" He rants at Eliot as he points to Jayda's neck.

"Wait, what?" Jayda asks him looking confused and not a little pissed off at his presumption.

"That huge bruise and bite mark covering your neck! And is it bleeding...?" He asks peering closer at her.

"Well first off, I have no problem with Eliot bitin' me, in fact I asked him to, and secondly, people don't just 'do things to me' I either choose to let them or ask them to do them, I'm no one's victim, ok?" She replies acidly, making sure Hardison understands that further comments would be unwelcome.

"Right then, erm ok, so briefing..." Hardison changes the subject hastily while turning towards the screen.

"Ain't we gonna wait for Parker?" Eliot asks looking around to see if she's tucked away in a corner somewhere.

"Nah, we went over this already while you two were, errr.... 'indisposed'" Hardison answers ducking his head slightly as if expecting something to hit it, while Eliot just rolls his eyes at his back in consternation.

"Right, please don't take this the wrong way but we check clients backgrounds as well as look into the case they've brought us after a bad experience in the past so just bare with us ok?" Hardison starts while Eliot growls "Dubenich" next to her as Hardison reaches out clicking at the screen with some kind of remote.

"Jayda, adopted aged two, after her parents were killed in an explosion at the laboratory they both worked at, by Diwali Red Cloud, shaman of a tribe of Cherokee natives based not too far outside Evansville in Kentucky, on the same day Diwali also adopted another little girl, a newborn he named Ruby, they grew up near the edge of the land the tribe lived on and were fully accepted into the community even though both girls came from mixed parentage, one parent being from the tribe the other being white in both cases."

"Yeah we kinda know all this already Hardison, we grew up knowing it" Eliot interrupts, wanting to protect Jayda from having to hear her own life story told by someone else.

"I know man, but there might be things we have wrong or that you guys don't know that we all need to know about so just let me go through it all ok?" Hardison replies.

"Fine" Eliot growls crossing his arms as he leans back on his stool.

"Jayda had a typical childhood, had great grades and was considered an almost genius level intellect by her teachers, took all the AP classes and aced them and was offered to jump grades and graduate early but chose to stay with her own age group, and I'm guessing that had something to do with you, Eliot, Ruby had a typical childhood until she reached the age of eleven when she was diagnosed with leukemia, after two years of aggressive treatment she went into remission and has been clear for twenty years now." Hardison pauses to look up and give them an encouraging smile before continuing.

"Jayda went onto college in England and received a bachelors degree in art history, after which her history goes more off-grid, with mentions of her working as a hitter, art historian, art thief and a sub-contractor attached to certain black-ops teams, hell Eliot it almost reads like your resume, where'd you learn to do this stuff girl?" Hardison asks looking up at her wide-eyed.

"Eliot and I taught ourselves to fight as kids, learned some martial arts, dirty fighting, all sorts, it just grew from there, at least I didn't actually join the army or anything, can you continue please?" Jayda answers while Eliot huffs out a breath at the army jab.

"Yeah err..., meanwhile Ruby married her childhood sweetheart Jared White Hawk and started a small horse ranch and riding school, which has been doing pretty well over the last ten years or so, Just a little over seven years ago they had Sarah and Jane who are non identical twins, and a trust was set up in their names for the amount of $15,000,000, I'm guessing their parents don't know you did that right?" Hardison asks.

"No, no one but me and now all of you know about the trust, like I said my sister doesn't know that I am.... well funded" Jayda replies staring at the desk.

"What's your point with that Hardison? Are you trying to shame Jay for doing well?" Eliot growls out protectively.

"Nah man, I'm just laying it all out and checking the facts as I go" he replies holding up his hands in a calming gesture before continuing "both girls have had typical, happy childhoods from what I can find, a couple of hospital records for typical childhood stuff, a broken arm on Sarah when she was four and Jane accidentally got into the cleaning chemicals and tried to eat a toilet block when she was a toddler."

"Although the girls have only just started their academic careers they are both progressing, Jane has been doing well staying at an average B+ grade, Sarah has been doing better with an average A grade and showing signs of having a much higher IQ than children even twice her age, but her parents have been resisting testing saying they want her to have a normal childhood with peers of her own age until she asks to either be tested or moved up the grades, however she has been showing signs of being rather volatile, having broken another child's nose and put him into a submission hold in an altercation just a few months ago, the most noteworthy things about this incident is that the child in question was in the 5th grade and a well known bully who was larger than his classmates, let alone the girls, and Sarah has had no martial arts or self defence training at all, Sarah claims to have been acting in self defence as the bully had been attacking Jane, a story backed up by the other children who were there at the time, Sarah received a week long suspension from school as a punishment." Hardison pauses to take a drink from his orange soda giving Eliot the chance to comment "fighting bigger kids and winning, all to defend someone else? That sounds familiar, guess Sarah takes after you there Jay" making Jayda go a little pale "no she doesn't take after me" she replies coldly before Hardison continues

"the odd thing about the girl's histories is I can't find any obgyn records regarding the pregnancy or birth, in fact there are test results in your sisters records that state she was completely infertile due to the cancer treatment she received as a child, and there are some discrepancies in the girls medical records I haven't figured out yet, such as why their blood groups don't seem to match their parents...."

"They're adopted" Jayda cuts in harshly "she couldn't have her own children so they were adopted at birth, the mother wanted no link back to her, so my sister was named on the birth certificates negating the need for an adoption certificate, ok?"  
she says breathing deeply through her nose, tangling her fingers together and picking at her nail edges like this was a hard and upsetting subject for her, Eliot reached out and put his hand over both of hers stopping her from picking at her nails anymore.

"C'mere, sweetheart" he says quietly, dragging her stool closer to his "I gotcha"

"Don't" Jayda replies leaning a little away from him as he tries to put his arm around her, confusing him and making him wonder if she had regrets already "okay, just... I'm here if you want me, alright?" He answers, gently stroking his hand down her spine instead, making her look up and quirk a sad smile at him, which he responds to in kind.

"Okay, well that answers some questions, but the girls don't have the same parents do they?" Hardison asks.

"No they don't, they just happened to be born on the same day, hence them being declared as twins" Jayda states "they have no shared biological parentage" she finishes.

"Alright, is there any chance this could be linked to the biological parents? That they want their child back or the child is being used against them as a threat, blackmail or other leverage?" Hardison questions.

"Well there is always the chance that they took the wrong twin or were after both but could only grab one, so I guess to start, Jane's mother was a 15 year old girl who got in trouble when she let a situation with a boy go too far, she was sent to my father for the later part of her pregnancy and the birth, to spare the family the 'shame', although my father is a shaman he is also fully trained in "western" medicine, he's an MD so he's also the tribe doctor, by sendin' her to a different tribe it meant the matter could be swept under the carpet when she went back home, she was happy to give up her baby to a loving couple who couldn't have their own, meanin' the child had a chance at a good life, a chance it most likely wouldn't have with a single teenaged mother, her family were not well off so I doubt it has anythin' to do with them or blackmail against them, but I cannot definitively say it's not the case, sorry" Jayda reels out, Eliot and Hardison listening carefully.

"And what about Sarah?" Eliot asked

"Sarah's father didn't even know she existed, so there is no link there, and barely anyone knew her mother was pregnant, just my father, Ruby and me as I was livin' at home at the time, she died when Sarah was born, so there is no one that could be after her from either of her parents, which is why I'm so sure they intend her harm, there's no emotional bond or reasonin' for them not to since they can't be related to her" Jayda concludes, pressing her lips together until they were completely bloodless, then slowly leaning into Eliot who immediately wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and kisses her cheek before nuzzling under her ear and down to her neck, shocking Hardison with his show of physical affection.

"Is there any way the father could have known or come across the knowledge recently maybe? Hardison inquires, bending down a little to look into Jayda's eyes.

"No, I know for a fact he was not told, he was not there to see any signs or symptoms of pregnancy and there was nothin' left behind that would inform him of her existence, it's impossible." She answers avoiding Hardison's eyes.

"Ok, I need to know all four names of the biological parents so that I can run background and medical checks on them and find out where they are now." Hardison demands.

"I can tell you both mother's name's, but only Jane's father's, Sarah's mother never told us her father's name, even though we asked repeatedly in case of a family medical history we might need to know about, she took that secret to her grave" Jayda answers looking down at her hands again as Eliot runs his thumb over the back of her scarred knuckles in soothing circles.

"Ok, well, if you give me that info I can get my searches going and we can get our flight to Kentucky" Hardison declares, before smiling quickly at them and making a beeline for his keyboard, Jayda gives him the information he needs before he goes to grab his bag and gear.

"So back home then," Jayda says before looking Eliot in the eye "you gonna go visit your dad while you're there?" She asks quietly knowing what a sore subject it had been the last time they saw each other.

"I tried a couple years back, I was too late Jay, he'd died and I didn't even know it" Eliot replies hanging his head in grief as she wraps her arms around him, "I'm so sorry I didn't know" Jayda whispers to him "no one told me when I was there for the girl's birthday a few months back" she pulls him tighter into her embrace as she rubs her nose up and down his neck, letting the stubble on his jaw rasp along her cheek, comforting him "well it ain't like he was actually part of or even welcome in the tribe" he tells her.

After a few moments of silence between them he whispers "I'm ok", pulling himself together and clearing his throat.

"Do you have any bags?" He asks her taking her hand

"No, I just got on a flight and came straight here hopin' the last address i'd been given for you was still current" Jayda confesses

"Ok then, let's get them movin' and go shall we?" Eliot smiles at her as he shouts out "c'mon Parker!, Hardison! We gotta go!" 

Within moments they can see Hardison's feet coming down the staircase, followed by a whoop and Parker dropping into the centre of the room from somewhere in the high ceiling beams wearing one of her climbing rigs.

"Does she do that often?" Jayda asks since Eliot didn't jump or flinch in the least, "yeah all the time" Eliot answers smirking at her "made you jump, eh?" He comments with a raised eyebrow.


	3. Flying home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys fly to Kentucky to start the rescue of Sarah, along the way some important facts are brought to light for Eliot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the guest who left Kudos, after 89 views they were the only one to bother, and it means the world to me, I thought that no-one wanted to read this or it was so bad no-one thought it deserved kudos, that one guest has encouraged me to post a new chapter, I hope you like it!

Once all the leverage team's bags are packed into Eliot's truck and they're on the road Parker starts annoying Eliot, first leaning in from the back to fiddle with the radio, then she starts asking him questions.

The first being "sparky, do I have to be near any horses again?" 

Quickly followed by "would it be like at Aimee's horse farm?" Which gets him a rather sharp look from Jayda, making his knuckles turn white where his hands are gripping the wheel so tight 

Then it's Parker telling him she "wants to sit with Jayda on the plane so she can get juicy stories about teenaged Eliot" at which point he snaps "enough! I'm tryin' to drive here so shut up, ok!" Which means he gets scowls from the other three in the truck while he silently fumes about ending up being seen as the bad guy, again!

"You didn't have to shout at her y'know" Jayda says quietly a few minutes later once Hardison has distracted Parker with a story about 'nana' whoever that was.

"I didn't mean to Jay, it's just first she goes on about Aimee and then tells me I can't sit with my ma.... girlfriend during the flight, and I'm feelin' kinda possessive right now, I mean I only just got you back, do you blame me for wantin' to be close to you?" Eliot replies quietly, eyes flicking between the road, the pair in the backseat in the rear view mirror and Jayda whose eyes had taken on a soft shine at his words.

"I don't blame you for wantin' that sweetheart, especially now, but you gotta remember she doesn't know about you feeling that way or why, she's just excited to meet someone who knew you so well, and hey, we got the rest of our lives to be together, ain't we? Just tell her you're sorry for shoutin' but you'd rather sit with me today if she doesn't mind, I bet she'll be fine with it if you just phrase it like that, alright?" She asks him.

"Ok" he answers quietly before raising his voice a little "hey Parker, I'm sorry I shouted at you ok? It's just me and Jayda have a lot to talk about today so I kinda need to sit with her, if you don't mind? You'll have plenty of time to hear stories about me while we're doing the job, I promise, ok?" He asks

"Ok, sparky, no problem, you know you only had to say so, right?" Parker replies

To which all Eliot can say is "right" letting his shoulders slump while Hardison stares at Jayda in admiration "no one can get him to calm down that fast and then apologise!" He whispers to the back of Jayda's head, to which she just turns a little in her seat and smirks at him in response.

"He's just a giant growly puppy, if you know where to pet him" she tells Hardison as she reaches over and strokes Eliot's hair gently, at that Hardison screws up his face like he just sucked a bitter lemon, answering her with "y'all nasty" in disgust.

"I know but it's true" she comments back, turning around to face the road and glimpsing Eliot's look of playful disgust too "what? it's true isn't it?" She inquires of him, he sets his lips in a flat line and hisses "yeah, but I'm meant to be the big scary hitter, you're ruinin' my reputation here!" To which his answer is nothing but giggles and a "yeah, right!" From each of the girls.

"Well enough of all this, we're just about at the airport, everyone got their ID's and shit ready?" Eliot asks on a sigh.

He receives a "yes" from Jayda and Hardison followed by a "yes dad" and a muffled giggle from Parker, which rather than respond to he just ignores because he was getting rather close to his last nerve and didn't want to shout again, he had a feeling that this was going to be his hardest rut to cope with since he was a teenager, especially at the rate things were going, typical.

Once Hardison has retrieved their tickets and they arrive at their boarding gate Jayda is surprised to find they are all booked into first class, she looks from her ticket to Hardison saying "you didn't need to do this! Let me pay you back for the tickets they must have cost you a fortune!" 

"Nah, don't stress it pretty lady, they were on a special discount" Hardison replies grinning.

"What kind of discount?" Jayda asks suspiciously.

"A Hardison special" Parker tells her, wiggling her eyebrows erratically.

"Age of the geek, baby!" Hardison declares, grinning rather maniacally.

"There's somethin' WRONG with you guys!" Jayda states shaking her head while Eliot smirks behind her, nodding, then adding "that's what I said!"

Their conversation is cut off by the announcement that first class for their flight was now boarding and they moved towards the boarding desk.

Once they were seated, Jayda and Eliot at the front of the cabin and Parker and Hardison at the back, on the opposite side of the aisle, Jayda and Eliot finally got the chance to talk in semi-privacy again.

"I'm a growly puppy? Really?" Eliot starts with, making Jayda snort out a quiet laugh.

"Well it's true, you always have been my growly puppy" Jayda smiles at him, remembering how they would both sneak out to play at night when they were kids, just a girl and her wolf, running and playing in the woods or the horse pastures, sometimes Eliot would stay human at night when they played, but he preferred to be a wolf, he said he could protect her better that way and she never argued, whichever form he was in he was always still just her Eliot, she never saw any difference between Eliot-wolf and Eliot-boy, he was just her best friend in the world.

They'd been caught so many times over the years, either by the pack while out playing and roaming or by her father when Eliot brought her home, but they were all understanding of his need to run and her going with him because of their friendship, they might not like it per se but they would tolerate it, so long as their schoolwork didn't suffer, Eliot would always wait for her to get back inside before turning tail and running back home, to the house at the edge of the tribal land where his family lived, to change back before morning when he had to get ready for school, most of the time he managed to get out of and back into the house without being caught, but sometimes his father would be waiting for him.

His father hated the wolf part of his son, the 'imperfection' passed on from his Native American wife and her family, he hadn't known what she was until Eliot was about five and underwent his first change, right in front of his disgusted father, and when he would catch Eliot coming home in the morning, knowing he'd been out running as a wolf, he'd whip Eliot with his heavy leather belt, trying to make him stop changing into 'that beast' as he referred to Eliot's wolf, even though Eliot couldn't have stopped even if he wanted to.

Eliot wouldn't make it to school on those days, laying bleeding on his bedroom floor until his werewolf healing sealed the welts and cuts closed, Jayda only knew about how bad he was beaten because she had skipped out of school one day when they were twelve when he didn't make it in and found him on his floor, bleeding and crying, she knew he hated that she'd seen him like that but she was always glad she had, anytime after that Eliot didn't make it into school after going running during the night she would skip out and go to him, sitting on the floor of his room with his head in her lap, stroking his hair and reading to him from whatever book they were studying at the time until he healed, she would always tell him she loved him while they were sat like that but Eliot never really understood how she meant it, he always thought she meant like friends, the thought of anything more never even crossing his mind until they were 16 and he came to realise how much he loved her scent, things began to change between them on their nightly runs, they would still run through the fields or woods, Jayda in her shorts and tank top and Eliot as a wolf, but they always came to the same place in the end, a small lake hidden in the woods, far away from any of the houses that had started encroaching into the woods.

When they would finally arrive at the lake after running, pouncing and wrestling with each other, Eliot would change back into his human form, of course that left him naked but they'd been doing this their whole lives, so Eliot's nudity was nothing new to Jayda, they would either swim in the lake for a while (when it was hot) or just go straight to laying next to the lake staring at the stars, one with their head on the others shoulder or stomach or just laying next to each other holding hands, until one night when they were seventeen and were swimming, Eliot pulled her up against his chest, looking down into her eyes and noticing for the first time how right it felt to hold her there, before leaning down and kissing her, Eliot was not inexperienced at kissing girls although kissing was all he'd ever done, but this was the first time he'd thought of Jayda that way, before too long Eliot's hand started to roam Jayda's back stroking and tickling her gently, before pulling up the back of her tank top to run his fingers down her spine uninterrupted, after a few moments of this, Jayda grabbed the hem of her top and stripped it off over her head, revealing large yet firm breasts that she pushed up against his chest with a shiver, "Jay, what... are you sure?" Eliot whispered breathlessly, rather than answer Jayda pulled him down into another passionate kiss, taking his hands and putting them to her breasts, showing him how she wanted him to touch and massage her, rubbing herself up against him, feeling his dick rock solid between their bellies, after a short time of this Eliot wrapped his arms around her tightly, bending his knees to bring her nipples into reach of his mouth, but still rubbing up against the front of her shorts, getting more and more erratic as he sucked and bit at her nipples, moving harder and faster before tipping his head back and pretty much howling as he came into the water and over the front of her shorts, holding her tightly and biting the flesh between her shoulder and her neck firmly.

It was weeks after that before Eliot came to her at night to run again, he'd told her at school that he had been forced to take a job at a horse trainers farm by his father, the owner was friends with his dad and had told him he needed help, so Eliot was given the job whether he wanted it or not, and it was leaving him too exhausted to run at night, he'd still need to, but only once every four weeks, maybe six if he pushed it, but it would only be when he had to, not for fun anymore, that night Eliot led her straight to the lake without any detours or playing along the way, giving Jayda a sinking feeling in her guts, when they arrived Eliot went over to a bag that was sat under a tree and changed back into his human form, but for the first time was hiding from her and being shy about his nudity, before getting dressed into some jeans.

"What's wrong?" Jayda asked him.

"I... I've met someone Jay, she's really great and I want to be with her, but I don't want you to be mad at me" Eliot said staring at the ground.

"What? You think i'd ever be mad at you?" Jayda whispered with a tremble in her voice and a huge lump in her throat.

"I just... you're my best friend and I love you but..." Eliot started.

"Don't" Jayda broke in "don't say anymore, you know I love you but I can't hear anymore about this, I get what you're telling me, we're friends and you love me as a friend, but nothing more and now there's someone great you want to be with, that's fine, I understand, I'm not mad ok? I just wish you hadn't brought me all the way here, to here of all places to tell me, I gotta go..." before turning and sprinting off in the direction of home, he knew he'd never catch her as a human and he'd never catch up to her head start as a wolf if he took the time to change, so he didn't follow her even though he wanted to, that was the last night they ever went running, and the only one where she returned home alone, without an escort.

"Hey, where did you go?" Eliot asks watching the gentle smile that had spread across Jayda's face.

"I was just rememberin' our nighttime runs as kids and teenagers" she answers, her smile turning a little sad.

"You know, I wanted to follow you that last time when you ran off, but I knew i'd never catch you" he tells her as if reading her mind "I know I really messed up back then, can you forgive me for hurtin' you the way I did?" He asks taking her hand.

"You were forgiven a long time ago, El, if you weren't I woulda shot or stabbed you the last time we met" she answers with a totally straight face.

"You know, I think I'm just gonna believe that that would've been the case" he comments really not sure if she's serious or joking.

"El?" Jay asks looking serious suddenly "what happens now?"

"Well, we'll go talk to your sister...." Eliot starts before being cut off.

"No, El, I know what happens next about Sarah, I meant about us, what happens now?" Jayda looks at him with her wide violet eyes.

"Well I guess we need to talk about that" Eliot answers "what do you want to happen?"

"I don't know" Jayda says "I don't want you to think I'm forcin' you into anythin' or demandin' too much or.... you know just... being overbearin' or somethin'"

"Oh darlin', you ain't forcin' me to do anythin'!, me? I'd like you to come live with me, get to know Alec and Parker and..." Eliot starts reassuring her.

"Hang on who's Alec?" Jayda interrupts.

"Oh, Alec is Hardison's first name" Eliot explains.

"Oh right ok, so what about Parker? Does she have a first name?" Jayda asks

"Nope, just Parker, if she had a proper name, which I guess she did at first, she won't tell anyone, maybe she doesn't even remember anymore" Eliot muses.

"How odd, ok well go on with what you were sayin'... about what you want to happen next" Jayda encourages.

"Erm well, get to know Parker and Alec, maybe join the team, maybe not, dependin' on what you want, live together, have a garden, go runnin'..." he grins his 'wolf-grin' at her "maybe have a baby or two..." he adds on a little hopefully.

Jayda's face pinches in on a wince, her eyes closing while she breathes softly through her nose.

"You don't want kids" Eliot states mistaking her look.

"No El, I want kids, I want kids with you, I always have, but I've been told I can't, I received a wound about a year after you saw me last, it ended up causin' internal scarring, they said I can't get pregnant because of it, I can't give you kids, I'm so, so sorry" Jayda whispers sadly.

"Dammit Jay, it's ok, we'll do like your dad and your sister, we'll adopt if you want" he tells her sadly, leaning over and giving her a tight hug and a nuzzle at her ear, making her let out a small, wet-sounding laugh and squirm a little before he takes her hand "and you never know, they might be wrong, maybe we'll have a little miracle after all?" He asks with a hopeful tone. 

"Maybe, but don't get your hopes up El, I don't want you to get hurt because I let you have false hope" she answers, holding in her tears.

"You know" he muses "if only things had gone differently last time maybe we could have had a kid before you were injured, hell maybe you wouldn't have even been injured if I had been there"

Jayda pulls away from him then goes stone still in her seat, not even breathing before turning to him and saying quietly "so it's my fault for leavin' that night? You can't have kids with me and it's because of me, how can you stand the thought of being near me?" Her voice trembling.

"No that wasn't what I was sayin'" he answers just as quietly, gather up her hands "there is no blame on you, you could have had an injury at any time, whether I was there or not, hell if you received the injury while pregnant I might have lost you forever, not just the potential for a child, that's not a risk I would ever willingly take, ok? You're the only one worth anythin' to me, you're my world"

"Ok" Jayda replies staring down at their linked fingers.

"Hey, we could get a dog instead?" Eliot suggests.

"No, I'm already gonna have one canine moultin' everywhere, we're not gettin' another, anyway I don't wanna have to deal with two alpha dogs pissin' on everythin' trying to claim territory" Jayda decrees.

"Canine?" Eliot hisses at her, "you wanna sleep alone tonight?" He asks

"Not really, do you?" She replied.

"Well, no of course not" he admits.

"Not much of a threat then is it?" She taunts him, to which he huffs and takes his hand back to cross his arms, pouting and glaring.

Jayda smiles at him indulgently before leaning over and kissing his pout "I love you y'know" she whispers against his lips, making his glare melt into a small smile.

"I love you too" he replies tipping his forehead against hers gently, enjoying her closeness and being surrounded by their mixed scent, right up until Parker dropped heavily into his lap (Eliot had the aisle seat).

"Parker! Don't do that or you're gonna break somethin'!" Eliot wheezes.

"What? You're all squishy, how could I get hurt let alone break something?" Parker replies distractedly.

"I meant break me!" He snarls trying to displace her so she won't feel his pretty much permanently hard dick under her and risk her getting the wrong idea.

"Well sorry!" She snaps, standing back up and glaring at him "there's no need to be so nasty today, Sparky, I just came to tell you Alec had found some clues about the kidnappers and he's following them up, I thought you guys would want to know, make the flight less stressful for Jayda if she knew we already had potential leads" she adds sounding hurt.

"Thank you, Parker" Jayda says gently " and you can call me Jay ok? No need to use my full name if you don't want to" she adds smiling up at the thief "but you gotta be a bit more gentle with El for a while, just while we get settled back together, he's feelin' a bit out of sorts because of everythin' happenin'" she tells her.

"Yeah, well, the way he's been acting you'd think he was on his 'time of the month' or something" Parker tells her over the top of Eliot's head as she walks away, making his eyes bug out and his mouth drop open in shock.

"She... she said.... they've noticed.... " Eliot stammers out looking pale and suddenly sweating "what if they.... they'll hate me and... oh gods...." he mutters panicking a little.

"Hey it's ok, she just meant you were being moody, not that she thinks you DO have a 'time of the month' although I guess that it's a fair analogy of sorts" Jayda told him, gripping his hand tightly to ground him "but don't worry you're fine, there is no chance that they would ever guess the truth, believe me"

"If you're sure...." he answers, letting quiet fall between them for a few minutes.

"Jay, I got a question" Eliot says, sounding tentative.

"What is it?" Jayda answers, dreading his reply.

"Sarah, where did your sister get that name?"

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath Jayda prepares herself to answer "it was just after I found out I couldn't have kids, so I begged Ruby to let me name one of the babies, I named her after your mother" she confesses hoping he doesn't get mad.

"You did that? For me?" He asks, disbelieving.

"Yes, I just had to..." she answers dropping her head forward.

"Thank you!" Eliot whispers into her ear, holding her tightly, "you're amazin'!"

She smiles up at him, glad that this has made him happy.

At this point the captain came over the speaker system giving them the details of the flight, followed by the flight attendants doing their demonstrations, once the plane was starting it's journey along the runway Jayda reached over and took Eliot's hand again, knowing he was uncomfortable flying, and smiling at him softly.

As the plane left the ground Eliot took a deep breath in and started a breathing technique to help him keep calm so that he'd be ready for any trouble that might crop up. Once the plane had levelled out he undid his seatbelt and shifted over as close to Jayda as possible, wanting to ask her about something she had said earlier, taking both her hands in his and giving her a little smile.

"What did you mean earlier, when you asked if you weren't doin' it right while we were makin' love?" He asks quietly, looking at her concernedly.

Jayda stares down at their linked hands for a moment before answering quietly "well, I meant what I said, I was worried that either, I wasn't turnin' you on, which I was pretty sure I was, that I was doin' it wrong and you wanted me to move differently or somethin' or that I was just plain bad at it and was ruinin' it for you because you well... hadn't finished"

"Are you crazy? A, of course you turn me on, the hard-on I've had all afternoon attests to that, B, you were movin' in all the ways that felt great to me, I wouldn't change a thing about it and C, you are not bad at sex, surely your lovers have shown you just how good you are, or do I need to go bust some heads?" Eliot answers with quiet intensity.

"Hmmm, I haven't had any lovers, there are no heads to bust" Jayda replies looking nervous.

"What do you mean no lovers? They don't have to be recent to count you know, surely some of them in the last fifteen years have told you how great sex with you was?" He says staring at her.

Jayda takes a deep breath and looks up into his eyes "no you've misunderstood me" she starts "I've never had any lovers to tell me whether I'm any good or not, and I haven't had any practice at all apart from that night eight years ago" she concludes, dropping a bombshell of epic proportions into Eliot's mind.

"You've never...." he begins not quite believing the words that are coming out of his mouth "never been with anyone except me? That night you were a... a virgin?" 

"Yes" Jayda replies dragging her gaze down towards their hands when his mouth opens but nothing comes out before shutting with a snap.

"I'm sorry" she says, feeling the tension rising between them and worrying she may have just lost the only thing she ever wanted.

"But you were twenty six! You're thirty four now! How can such a beautiful, intelligent and sexy woman have never had any lovers? I don't understand" he says harshly, his voice sounding as gravelly as if he'd been drinking cheap whiskey all day.

"I didn't want any of the ones who tried to get me, they were always measured against you, and they never came close to matchin' up, so I didn't want them, and then once I had been with you..., well no-one else ever stood a chance of bein' noticed after that, when I told you I loved you I meant it, you're all I've ever wanted" Jayda explains, looking down at their still joined hands as if ashamed.

"You waited for me? And have only ever been with me? You've been faithful to me our whole lives?" Eliot asks, feeling emotions he couldn't name swelling up inside of him.

"Yes" Jayda answers simply before looking up into his eyes "I love you, I always have and I always will, whether you want me or not" she states, waiting for his judgement.

"And I love you, my one true mate, someone who's loyalty I don't deserve, but I will always cherish, of course I want you, I want you with me every day for the rest of our lives" Eliot replies, pulling her onto his lap and kissing her relentlessly while rubbing himself lightly against her ass, right up until they were interrupted by a flight attendant, asking them to desist as other passengers had complained, making Jayda slide into her own seat with a hot blush on her cheeks.

Trying to take his mind off his now throbbing erection, Eliot tries changing the subject to the little girl they're on their way to save.

"So tell me about Sarah" he asks "what is she like?" 

Jayda goes a little stiff in her seat but answers him with "well you heard what Hardison said at the briefin', she's really good in school, broke her arm a few years ago, she never cried, it was a bad break and we still don't know what happened, she just came in with it held out in front of her saying 'it's hurt and I think I broke it' I've never seen anythin' like it, she loves the horses, seems to have a bit of a gift with them, she doesn't really have any friends apart from her sister but it doesn't seem to bother her so it's not somethin' we're worried about, she loves to read, her appetite for books is voracious, anything from young adult upwards she'll read it, she needs reading glasses but the prescription isn't too bad..., what else...., oh yeah her appearance, she's a little short for her age but she still has time to grow, has very thick, soft, dark hair, it has an occasional hint of red in it, it's beautiful in the sunlight, and she's got blue eyes, I'll show you a picture when we get home." She finishes.

"You don't have one in your wallet?" Eliot asks.

"No, if someone comes after me and gets hold of my wallet I don't want any link back to my family in there, you know how it is being a hitter or doing retrievals, it's not worth the risk" Jayda answers with a sigh.

"You ok?" Eliot asks looking at her worriedly, "do you need anythin'?"

"Just some water, a painkiller from my backpack and some sleep, I'm just tired and it's giving me a headache" she says.

Eliot flags down a flight attendant and asks for some water, before standing to get Jayda's backpack/handbag out of the overhead locker and passing it to her so she can grab a painkiller, once she has gotten what she needs she passes the bag back to Eliot to be stowed away again, by the time he's sat down again Jayda has taken the pills and has moved over towards his seat.

"You needin' somethin' else darlin'?" He asks turning towards her in his seat.

"Just, well a cuddle would be nice, if I can't sleep then at least relaxin' is bound to help" she answers, instantly his arm is around her pulling her close while whispering to her, "go to sleep darlin' we gotta few hours and I'm here to protect you, I'll always keep you safe" he promises, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry baby, I just feel so emotionally wrung out" she tells him resting her head on his shoulder, a position he knew would give her a sore neck but that he wasn't going to dissuade her from, he liked it.

"I know, you've been through a lot since she was taken and now everythin' with us..." he reassures her, getting a warm, possessive feeling at the thought of 'us' "just go to sleep" he says kissing her on the forehead.

"Ok baby, if you're sure you don't mind.... " Jayda ended with a yawn, snuggling down into his side, resting her head on him and wrapping her fingers up in his shirt to hold him close, his arm around her, making sure she was safe and loved, she'd never been more comfortable, she drifted off to the sound of Eliot's heart beating for the first time in her life, happy.


	4. Meeting the family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where we meet Jayda's family and find out what the kidnappers might really be after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've decided that I'm never gonna write a story with multiple people with southern accents ever again, Eliot and Jayda are driving me nuts in later chapters and I've just had to go through the whole story after realising I've only used the southern on some words, it's very annoying.
> 
> Now after this the next three or four CHAPTERS are porn, I can't help it, Eliot's wolf's libido has kicked my ass and demanded this much sex, I had to make a conscious effort to stop it where I did or there would have been at least one more chapter of it (more likely two or three), luckily my Hardinson-muse decided it was time to annoy Eliot with a phone call at a bad time.
> 
> I'm started on chapter nine so I'll post again in the next couple of days, let me know what you think! I can't improve if you guys give me no feedback!

Jayda is woken by a jolt and a squeeze to her hand "hey darlin' we've landed" Eliot says immediately, knowing what is likely to happen when any hitter wakes up suddenly in a strange place.

"Yeah, ok" Jayda answers before groaning quietly but harshly "God my neck is killin' me!" She tells him rolling and then cracking her neck.

"Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have let you go to sleep on me" He says gently.

"No, I wanted to, I just didn't think of the after effects at the time is all" she replies with a small smile.

Once they have disembarked and collected their bags and Hardison's equipment they head out to where Jayda's truck is parked.

"Woah, are you kidding me?" Hardison asks when he sees it "you guys have the same truck? Is it like a local trend or are you just psychically linked?"

"It's the best example of what's convenient for the roads around here" Jayda tells him handing Eliot the keys once all the luggage is stowed.

"You want me to drive?" Eliot asks, surprised.

"Yeah, we're headin' to Dad's and you know the way, not to mention I feel a bit foggy after nappin', it's just better if you do" Jayda replies smiling tiredly at him.

"Are you sure goin' to your Dad's is a good idea?" Eliot asks indicating her neck which is covered in a scarf at the moment.

"I'm a grown up, not to mention my dad was never the judgmental type, it'll be fine, anyway, it's where everyone will be" Jayda shrugs, giving Eliot a half-smile while settling into her seat.

"Okay let's roll then" Eliot declares before starting the engine and getting them out of the airport parking lot.

Once they're finally free of the airport's parking areas and onto the highway, Eliot notices that Parker and Hardison have curled up together in the backseat and have gone to sleep, leaving him and Jayda with a level of privacy to talk, he glances sideways at her and sees that she's got her eyes closed too, Eliot shrugs thinking that it doesn't matter, they can talk later, when she says quietly "I'm still awake, El, just relaxin', what's up?"

"Nothin's up sweetheart" he answers with a small smile "was just wonderin' about somethin' I felt earlier is all"

"What was that?" Jayda asks him curious

"Well you got some raised scarrin' on your left shoulder and bicep, I felt it when I was strokin' your arms, but I couldn't tell what caused it, it felt almost like a pattern, but I couldn't tell what of, do you mind me askin' what caused it?" Eliot explains

"Alright then, but I think you ain't gonna like it" she admits.

"The scarrin' on my shoulder is a pattern, it's a snowflake that covers the ball of my shoulder socket, it was put there to cover some scars that were left after a job gone bad, or should I say betrayed, the snowflake is a brand, which I designed, had done and then picked and peeled at to make it scar, it was my own free will and I chose to do it, the pattern on my shoulder and arm have meanin's that are special to me, I will explain them and their stories to you, when I'm ready, just not now, not yet" she tells him in a low voice.

"You had yourself branded? Do you think you're cattle? Why would you put yourself through that?" Eliot grinds out between his teeth.

"First, it ain't done the same way as for cattle, second, it's a form of body art or body modification, whichever you wanna call it and third, maybe the memory of the brand being done is a better memory than the one of how the original scarrin' was done, and i'd rather remember that because it's less painful!" She comments sharply.

"Ok, you had your reasons or whatever, this is a subject we'll talk about later ok?" Eliot says obviously not happy but not wanting to start a fight within hours of their reconciliation.

"Fine!" She agrees, not wanting to fight over this, it was her body and her choice, and it was done now, he'd just have to live with it.

After driving in silence for a while, each stealing looks at the other, both wanting to be closer, Eliot says "are you sure your dad isn't gonna skin me alive over your neck?" 

Jayda's lips quirk up in a smirk "no, Ruby came home with far worse from Jared when we were teenagers and everything was OK for her, the worst we ever got was his patented 'disappointed LOOK', so I can't see the issue"

"Yeah, but Ruby wasn't given a claimin' bite from a wolf, was she?" Eliot says, starting to pick at the steering wheel with his thumb nail.

"Nnnooooo, but she was only fifteen, so if she could get away with it then so can we now..." Jayda points out.

"Did you ever hear your dad have words with Jared?" He asks

"Well, no actually, I mean I can't see him NOT having words with him about it, but we never heard it when it did happen" Jayda replies surprised at the realisation.

"Well, I guess we'll know soon enough" Eliot surmises.

"Oh hey! We're not stayin' at your dad's are we?" He asks going rather pale at the thought of being in rut and the pair of them staying in his mate's father's house.

"No, I have a small house, we'll be stayin' there, it's in the woods, I bought the whole woods, declared them private land and gave the pack free roam whenever they want, they tend to keep their distance from the house but the pups come to visit sometimes and play, it's nice" Jayda looks down at her hands in her lap "I had the house built by the lake" she says quietly.

"By the lake we used to stargaze at?" Eliot asks equally as quiet.

"Yeah" Jayda answers, thinking again of their times by the lake, letting the conversation lapse until Eliot asks "are Parker and Alec Stayin' with us?" Because as much as he loves them, he does NOT want Parker and Hardison listening to him have rut-sex with his mate.

"No, they'll be stayin' at Ruby's, they have the room and I don't have the internet at my house, well except on my phone, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be enough for a hacker to be happy with, so they'll be stayin' where the internet is strong and fast" she reassures him.

"Thank god for that!" Eliot answers, unable to hide his relief at this news.

"Why? you got plans for tonight?" Jayda asks teasingly.

"Lets see, beautiful woman I love, who I have over a decade of time to make up for with, quaint cottage in the woods, no neighbors, being in rut,.... nope can't think of anythin' I have planned..." Eliot says shrugging.

"I can make you sleep on the sofa you know" Jayda threatens playfully.

"And how could I avoid this terrible fate?" Eliot asks, just before they hit a large pothole that Eliot had missed because he was too busy looking at Jayda.

"Well startin' to make up for those ten years would be a good beginnin'" Jayda says, grimacing at the jolt to certain tender parts that the bump caused.

"Well, in that case I guess I have plans after all" Eliot amended "I'm going to take you to bed and make love to you in every way I know how, which might take a few weeks.... but I'll definitely start tonight, I'll start by..."

"Y'all nasty" comes floating over from the back seat, making Eliot shut his mouth so quickly he bites his tongue and turns a magnificent shade of red. All the while Jayda's spluttering and coughing trying not to laugh at the look on his face.

"Dammit Hardison! Don't surprise me like that when I'm drivin'!" Eliot growls out.

"Hey, didn't know you guys were awake back there" Jayda says looking over her shoulder at Hardison.

"Wasn't until that bump, then I nearly heard way too much about y'all's sex life, and much as I like you guys, I've already heard way more of that than I ever needed to today" he replies sleepily, causing Eliot to swerve slightly on the road at his admission. 

"Dammit, what did I just say Hardison?" Eliot says hunching his shoulders.

"What? I didn't surprise you did I?" Hardison answers defensively.

"Well, no" Eliot admits "but there are things you don't just say when someone's drivin', the last thing any of us needs is me distracted while I'm drivin' on shitty local roads, or do you want me to hit more potholes and end up killin' us all?"

"No, sir" Hardison answers from the back a little petulantly.

"Well we're nearly there, why don't you wake Parker up? And if it's OK with Jay's dad I'll make up some dinner when we arrive ok?" Eliot says a little more kindly.

"El you don't have to cook..." Jayda starts before Eliot cuts over her with "I like to, and it helps me keep calm, I think I might need that with the situation we're walkin' into"

"Ok then, whatever you want" she answers smiling at him.

Just a couple of minutes pass, with the sounds of Parker being woken in the back seat and everyone getting themselves sorted out and presentable, before Eliot turns the truck into a driveway and pulling along beside the two cars already parked in front of the house.

"Well we're here, everyone be polite and respectful ok? And no stealing ANYTHIN' alright?" Eliot commands before unlocking the doors to let his teammates out of the back seat.

"You know I can go without stealing from people, right sparky? Especially the people we're helping" Parker asks, looking rather resentful of Eliot's insinuation.

"Yeah, sorry Parker, it's just important to me that things go perfectly here ok?" He asks pulling her in for a small hug with his arm around her neck.

"C'mon in" Jayda says leading the group into the kitchen through the side door.

As they file into the kitchen one by one they are surprised at how huge the kitchen is, taking up the whole back half of the ground floor of the house, there is a dining table at the far end, it's big enough to fit between eight and a dozen depending on how much you want to be squashed in together, with French doors opening into the garden behind it, a breakfast counter and stools separating it from the kitchen proper, taking about one third of the kitchen, the rest was kitchen heaven, granite counter tops, roomy cupboards, plenty of workspace and professional, industrial fridge, freezer and cooker, with a walk-in pantry right behind the back door, this was obviously a kitchen that was designed to see a lot of use.

In front of the stove is a Native American man, with long greying hair bound at the base of his skull, waiting for a kettle to boil, at the sound of the door he turns and a smile lights up his face.

"Daughter, was your journey successful? Do you bring us new friends to reunite our family?" He asks

"Yes father, and an old one too" Jayda answers before introducing them "this is Parker, Alec Hardison and you remember Eliot" she says, as each was named they stepped forwards to shake hands "and this is my father Diwali Red Cloud, Shaman of the tribe" she finished.

"Thank you all for coming, I fear greatly for my granddaughter, I hope you can help" he states before adding "please Jayda take Mr Hardison and... Parker was it? Into the sitting room to meet your sister and then return here, I wish to speak with you and Eliot"

Both Jayda and Eliot's heads snap up at this, as Jayda has a scarf on and there is no way he could have seen the mark on her neck yet, so why would he want to talk to them? Sharing a wide-eyed look with Eliot Jayda takes the others to meet her family.

Never one to shy away from something that has to be faced Eliot says "Sir what is it you want to talk about?" Hoping to maybe get whatever it is sorted before Jayda returns.

"I did say I wished to speak to you together, pup" Diwali scolds, making Eliot's teeth grind and arms clench tight where he has them crossed over his chest, in reaction to the childhood nick-name he always hated.

"Yeah, but I don't want anythin' to upset her if it can be avoided" Eliot replies in a growl.

"That's good" Diwali comments as he goes about filling a teapot with hot water.

Eliot rolls his eyes in frustration, knowing the old man won't say anything else on the subject until Jayda returns.

"So you managed to find a mate even though you were living in a city then?" Diwali comments without turning around to look at Eliot.

"How do you know that?" Eliot demands, worry about being overheard by Parker and Hardinson making his hackles rise.

"I'm a shaman to a tribe made up of 70% werewolves, I know the signs" he answers, raising an eyebrow at Eliot "have you forgotten so much about us over these years?" He asks sadly.

"No, I'm just used to dealing with humans who have no idea we exist, like my teammates" Eliot admits.

"That must be a hard life to live" Diwali says sympathetically "but you have managed to find a mate, so there must be some around you who know"

At this point Jayda returns looking at the two men suspiciously "what's going on?" She says looking from one man to the other and back again.

"Just catchin' up, darlin'" Eliot answers her, holding out his arm for a hug.

Once under Eliot's arm with her own around his waist she looks to her father and asks "what did you need to talk to us about?" As she speaks she unthinkingly uses her free hand to pull her scarf away from her neck, leaving it to trail down her front.

"There has been another call while you were gone" her father started while stirring the teapot "they made a new demand..." he continued before looking up at them.

"Daughter, what is that mark on you?" He asks in a low dangerous voice.

Jayda's hand shoots up to her neck and Eliot pushes her slightly behind him, reacting to the tone of voice neither of them had ever heard Diwali use before.

"What did you do, Eliot?" He demands staring into the other mans eyes threateningly.

"I claimed my mate, just like I wanted to for more than the last ten years" Eliot growls out, his protective and possessive instincts coming to the fore.

"Stop! Both of you! Dad, this choice was mine, I've always known what Eliot is and it never changed the way I felt about him, and we're goin' to be together, finally, please be happy for me!" Jayda begged.

Diwali closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his mind before answering "of course I am happy for you daughter, that you are with the one you love, who has made an unbreakable commitment to you, I just wish you had come home first and talked to me before going ahead with this."

"We didn't plan to.... well that is I mean.... we didn't know you'd feel that way about it" Jayda finally manages to get out after a few false starts.

"There are things you both should have known before taking this step, things Eliot's pack should have told him, well it's too late now, it's done, we'll talk about it once Sarah is home" he tells them before sighing "let us go and see what your friends plan to do shall we?"

"Wait!" Eliot says "you were about to tell us about a call that came today?" 

"Oh, yes, we received a call at lunchtime telling us that they would accept a hostage exchange," Diwali explained "they want Jayda for Sarah, plus $5,000,000 cash at the time of the exchange, if our answer is no then we have three days to get the $15,000,000 ransom together, if our answer is yes then we have seven days to find the $15,000,000 on top of paying the $5,000,000 at the time of the exchange, we have to make a decision before they call back at noon tomorrow, they want the exchange to take place by six pm that night" he concluded.

"No"

"Yes"

Both answers ringing out at exactly the same time, Eliot and Jayda turn towards each other, him with his arms crossed over his chest and her with her hands on her hips, her spine straight and her chin in the air.

"You ain't doin' this!" Eliot demands

"Yeah, I am!" Jayda replies "and there is nuthin' you can do to stop me!"

"Wanna bet?" Eliot snarls.

"What you gonna do to stop me?" She goads.

"Chain you to the goddamn bed if I have to!" He threatens.

"No you won't, because it's better that it's me in there than her! She's a terrified little girl, I'm one of the best hitters there is, I'm not the little girl you used to have to protect anymore! I can take anythin' they throw at me a damn lot better than that poor little child can! So don't you tell me I can't do this, because you're NOT gonna stop me!" She shouts into his face.

"I'm not lettin' them hurt you" Eliot says in defeat, damn her that she knew children in danger were his weakness.

"Then either I'll have to get myself out quick, or you'll need to come rescue me quick, ok?" Jayda asks resting her forehead up against his lips.

Eliot kisses her forehead before moving his down to rest against hers "I promise, I'll get you out, I won't let them hurt you" he swears looking into her eyes.

"Ok" she whispers back.

After a few moments they both pull their heads back and turn back to her father, "so yeah, we have one plan" Eliot says as they trail through to the sitting room, pausing to kiss slowly in the doorway while everyone is busy talking.

"What in the.... why are you kissin' Eliot, Jay?" Ruby's voice rings out over the room, causing instant silence.

"Cause I want to Rubes!" Jayda answers, blushing a little.

"Well I never thought i'd see the day Eliot Spencer finally pulled his head out of his ass!" Ruby exclaims "it's about damn time!" She concludes.

"Enough! We have more important things to talk about right now!" Diwali says before Eliot or Jayda gets a chance to answer.

"Ok, here's what we found out before and during our flight, Alec?" Parker says, settling into her role of Mastermind.

"Ok, I managed to find footage of the van the kidnappers used, and after following the footage back through street cams and other cctv I can tell you that they entered town from the east, but when they left town after committing the crime they left to the southwest, now we have one shot of the driver of the van from a speed trap camera, I've blown it up and enhanced it and it's a woman, but I can't get an ID on her, so does anyone recognise her?" Hardison asks the room as he puts the picture on the TV screen for everyone to see.

After a moment Ruby says "hang on, I do know her, she came to see father about rare sacred artefacts or somethin', remember?"

"Of course" Diwali replies "she came here looking for two things, one was medicinal, she wanted a fertility ritual as she had been told she couldn't have children by the specialists at the hospital and one of them had recommended me as a last resort, the other was an ancient piece of jewellery that had been passed down by members of our tribe for centuries, it holds special sacred meaning for us other than the monetary value, I told her we would not sell it at any price, she seemed satisfied with this answer, had her ritual and left, that must have been six months ago, while you were away working Jayda"

"What was the item she wanted?" Asks Parker.

"It's called the wolf-soul amulet, it was made before the white men came here, it is a link to our spirit ancestors, a guardian to our tribe" Diwali explains "it is made of a wolfs head which has been carved out of jade, set in silver, with rubies and a few diamonds set around the edge, I have a picture of it.... here" he says going to a desk and retrieving the professionally taken insurance photo, which was passed to Parker and Hardison, Eliot already knew what it looked like, he'd held it and even worn it once.

"What is the monetary value of the amulet?" Parker asks.

"About $13,000,000 at most recent valuation" Ruby answers at which Eliot squeezes Jayda's hand harshly.

"You let me wear somethin' worth so much?" He whispers to her.

"Of course" she answers "I love you and trust you with my life, what's a necklace worth compared to that?" She states simply, to which Eliot is powerless to answer, completely gobsmacked by the trust she always had in him.

"Ok, so either they're hoping to force the sale of the amulet, in order to obtain the ransom, so that their buyer can purchase it legitimately, they want to be offered the amulet instead of the ransom or they're wanting to be paid anyway for the retrieval job they couldn't do, either way it's gonna cost money or the amulet if you intend to deal with these people" Parker points out. "Or we can go in and get her out, it's messier but it won't cost you anything, and you've most likely got a better chance of getting Sarah back unharmed."

"Money is not an issue here, nor a deciding factor, all we care about is getting Sarah back unharmed." Jared answered glaring at Jayda and Diwali in turn, obviously blaming each of them in some fashion for the situation.

"Well, following the call received today, Jayda has decided to accept the hostage exchange, as it will be easier and safer to get her out than it would be Sarah, so tomorrow we'll make the exchange and then steal Jayda back once Sarah's safe" Eliot tells them, hoping Hardison brought plenty of bugs and GPS locators with him.

"For now though, would it be possible to see a picture of Sarah?" Hardison asks.

"Yes, of course," Ruby gets up this time to retrieve a photo of two seven year old girls from the bookcase and handing it to Parker.

"Oh!" Parker exclaims looking at the picture, "this ones Sarah right?"

"That's right, how did you know?" Ruby asks.

"It said in the notes we got that she wore glasses" Parker rushes to say, looking up at Eliot and Jayda sat together in an oversized snuggle armchair, then back down at the photo before nudging Hardison and handing him the picture frame.

"Oh, wow,.... they're gorgeous girls" Hardison mutters keeping his eyes pinned to the photo.

"Well? C'mon man hand it over!" Eliot says to Hardison making grabby hands gestures impatiently.

Reluctantly Hardison stands and hands Eliot the photo, staring at Jayda the whole time.

"Wow! She's a really pretty kid, reminds me a bit of you Jayda, but her eyes are lighter" he comments before handing the photo back to Ruby, who accepts it as if it were made of spun sugar, before holding it to her chest.

"So what we need now is to set up in our base of operations, and get our detailed plans together, so Mr Red Cloud, if you'll excuse us we'll go to your daughter's house and get set up there" Parker says professionally.

"Of course" Diwali replies, showing everyone to the door "let me know if there is anything I can do" he says before they leave.

The group decide that Parker and Hardison will go with Ruby and Jared to the farm and Eliot and Jayda would go to Jayda's house, after swapping the equipment between the two vehicles they each go their separate ways for the night, knowing that Hardison can be trusted to have all the comms and bugs ready by morning, Parker will have a full plan laid out by the time they arrive and that the hitters will be more alert if they get a good nights sleep.


	5. Coming Home for the first time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jayda brings Eliot to the house she had built by the lake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So porn again!
> 
> This chapter has angst, some history, lots of porn, and the next chapter getting posted immediately! 
> 
> To be honest this chapter and the next two are a less than twelve hour section of their lives, and I had such a hard time finding where to split them, rather than leave it a chapter longer than most whole stories, that's why these two are getting posted at the same time and the next will only be a couple of days away.
> 
> At the moment I'm writing chapter 11 and the story has turned very dark, and is about to get darker and I'm slowing down, because it's not an easy subject to think/write about, I hope I do it justice, but if my updates (erratic as they are) slow down y'all know why.

"You ok?" Eliot asks watching Jayda as she drives.

"Yeah, I'm just stressed is all, I'll be better when all this is over" she answers, looking over at him and smiling tiredly.

"Alright, you got a tub or just a shower?" He asks.

"Both, I did have the house built to order, you think I could ever do without either? why?" She replies, smiling.

"When we get there you go run a bath and I'll get a snack together for you to eat while you're soakin', then if you're very good, I'll wash your back, I would say hair but I don't think I'm ready for that yet..." he tells her.

"So your not gonna join me then?" Jayda asks with a smirk.

"Maybe, if you're very, very lucky I will" he answers, softly stroking her hand that was resting between them on the seat.

They take the rest of the journey in silence, Eliot watching Jayda, while she watched the road and glanced over to look at him when she could, each smiling at the other, every few miles Eliot would draw her attention shifting in his position in his seat and trying to subtly adjust himself, not that it was doing him any good and a feeling of anticipation began floating between them.

"We're about to arrive if you wanna get a good look at the house" Jayda tells him as they come to the end of the trees they had been driving under for the last few minutes.

Eliot looks up through the windscreen at the house that has just come into view ahead of them "wow" he says "did you design this?"

"Yeah, with help from a college friend who became an architect" she tells him "do you like it?" She asks as she pulls up outside it.

"I love it" Eliot answers "it barely looks like it's there, it fits in so well with the woods"

"That was what I wanted, I didn't want to ruin the place we always loved" Jayda replies looking down at her hands in her lap.

"You didn't" he tells her reaching over and grasping her hands.

She looks up at him smiling and says "let's go inside".

Eliot grabs his bag out of the truck while Jayda unlocks the door opening it so Eliot can go through first.

What he sees surprises him almost as much as Jayda arriving at the bar had, the house was one open room, there was a huge fireplace on the right hand wall, surrounded by couches, chairs and thick rugs, there were blankets everywhere, over the back of every chair and couch, plus a small stack of them to one side of the fireplace, it's obvious to Eliot that this room sees a lot of people and is made to make them all warm and comfortable, much like Jayda's father's kitchen, Jayda's kitchen is in the back left of this huge room, all top quality fittings, with a huge butchers block on the central island and a counter with stools making up the 'corner' of the area, there are bookcases everywhere, all overflowing with books, there is a dining table, but it's small and gives more of an impression of being used as a desk than a place to eat, Eliot spots a staircase hidden behind the back wall of the kitchen but he doesn't ask about it yet as there is no sign of a bed or of a bathroom for that matter, so he assumes they're hidden in the attic space, the house has lots of large windows, which means that it's going to always have maximum sunlight, and beautiful views during the day.

"What do you think?" She asks him, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist So that she can rest her cheek against his shoulder blade.

"It's not what I expected, I thought it would be all modern in here but instead all I can think to call it is 'rustic charm', I like it" he answers before turning in her arms and kissing her "it's a beautiful home, made for a family" he says, then takes the thought further "our family?" 

"That had been the plan, or rather hope, but things have changed since then, so now it's a place I live alone, with visits from my nieces and the pups" she answers sadly.

"Not anymore it isn't, this is OUR home now, you'll never be here alone again if I can help it, and we will have a family, somehow" he promises, resting his forehead against hers.

"Thanks" she says quirking a small smile for him.

He smiles back, looking her in the eyes and seeing some of her broken pieces fix back together, pieces he knows he had a hand in breaking.

"So where is this bath then?" He says, looking around the room again before being led by the hand to the staircase he'd spotted behind the kitchen, he was somewhat surprised to see a staircase going downwards as well, obviously there was some kind of basement, which was a surprise being so close to a lake, but he guessed Jayda found a way to make it work, she tugged on his hand leading him up the stairs, there was a low slanted roof over the hallway Eliot found himself in, a roof that gave him about a foot and a half above his head at the lowest point, in the hallway there were three doorways, one at each end and one in the middle, at the far end of the hallway was a giant window looking out over the lake with a window seat so someone could sit there and read or enjoy the view, it looked so cosy.

Jayda pointed at each of the doors in turn, "spare room" - the door nearest the window seat, "shower bathroom" - the middle door "and my... I mean our room" - the door nearest the head of the stairs.

"So where's the bath?" Eliot asks.

"In the master bathroom" she answers, leading him through their bedroom door, across the bedroom, with Eliot dropping his bag on the bed on the way past, and into the most luxurious bathroom Eliot had ever been in.

"Wow!" He says genuinely amazed by the room he's found himself in, one wall has a shower roughly six feet long by four or maybe five feet wide, it was huge! In the middle of the space is a bath that looks like it's been carved from one huge piece of stone, it's extra deep so the water should come up to between your collarbones and your chin depending on your height, and it can fit at least four people comfortably, there is a toilet and a double sink is set into a countertop made of the same stone as the bath, with a mirror running along the top of it, which takes up most of another wall, and in the corner is a beautiful oriental cabinet that Eliot assumes contains towels, washcloths and possibly some robes.

After watching Eliot stand there with his mouth open for a few moments Jayda reaches up and pushes his mouth closed.

"What? Oh sorry! I just can't believe..." Eliot starts

"I like my sanctuary to be a place I'll always be comfortable, and for it to be comfortable for us both to be in, so I had it made to be special" Jayda explains.

"Do you like it?" She asks apprehensively.

"I love it" he answers, still not believing the beauty of the room.

Eliot shakes his head to clear it and pulls Jayda to him by the hand she's been leading him by, holding her tightly against himself he kisses her gently.

"Get the bath runnin' and get yourself ready, I'll go get that snack" he tells her leaning in for another kiss.

Jayda leaned back a little, just enough to stop the kiss connecting before saying "you don't gotta do that y'know" she tells him before granting him the kiss he wanted.

"But I wanna" he mutters back without removing his lips from hers, squeezing her tightly.

"Okay" she answers breathily as he starts kissing down her neck, her hand burying itself into his gorgeous, soft hair, pulling it gently making him moan against her throat.

After a couple of minutes of Eliot kissing her neck, shoulders and lips while rubbing gently against her, he pushes himself back and puts his hands on her shoulders.

"Not now" he rumbles "after you've had a bath, something to eat and de-stressed some ok?"

"I've got a better idea..." Jayda answers him, slowly and gracefully going to her knees in front of him.

"Jay... no, don't... you don't have to..." Eliot stutters out, amazed at this woman in front of him.

"But I want to" Jayda replies surely "I've dreamed about doing this to you for over twenty years, please let me?" She begs, slowly stroking her hand gently over the shape of his already-hard cock.

"Oh, god... yes, please yes!" He growls out, completely undone by the thought of a teenage Jayda wanting to do this to him, dreaming and fantasising about sucking his cock until it hits the back of her throat, of him sliding into her throat, thrusting hard and coming so far into her mouth she has no choice but to swallow it, claiming her in a whole new way.

Just the thought has him groaning and his eyes rolling back into his head, as his pulse pounds in his cock where it strains against his jeans, and he's so glad he's protected from the rough denim by his boxer briefs, or he knows that his cock would be red raw after being hard and rubbing against them for the past seven hours, he's never been so turned on in his life.

Jayda leans forward from where she's sitting on her heels and mouths at the denim covering the head of his cock, breathing heavily against the fabric, the dampness of her breath passing through both denim and cotton to tease the head of his dick, making him twitch and sigh.

"Mmmm, yes like that" Eliot groans, sliding his hands into her hair and under the sections of her French braid "undo them" he demands, wanting his jeans gone so there is one less barrier between his cock and the virginity of her mouth.

She reaches up running her fingers along the top of the waistband tickling his belly, before taking hold of the waistband on either side of the top button and making a move that has all the buttons come undone one after the other without her moving her hands from their spot on the waistband, once the buttons are undone she drags the jeans down to his ankles, pulling them and his boots off in no time at all, and somehow Eliot finds this strangely erotic, his mate on her knees, desperate to strip him and pleasure him, he never thought he had a slave-girl fetish, but maybe he does, or maybe it's just that she seems to be in such a hurry to have him ravish - or should that be ravage - her mouth, either way the sight of her and the thought of her urgency to take him in had him straining and twitching, leaving an ever increasing wet spot on the front of his boxers.

When Jayda turns back to him she slides her hands slowly up his legs from his ankles to the bottom of his boxers, her touch so light it only registers because of the hairs she brushes against, making his skin break out in goosebumps, when her hands meet the bottom edge of his boxers she leans up and forward, slowly dragging the tip of her tongue along his shaft from root to tip with only his boxers between them, when she reaches the head she sucks, as if trying to draw him into her mouth before slowly rubbing her teeth against his frenulum making him gasp, at the sound she looks up through her eyelashes at him, checking that it was a good sound, before continuing, as she sucked at the head of his dick through the cotton of his boxers she got her first slight taste of him, a salty, slightly bitter flavour that was not what she had expected, but that she instantly wanted more of, her fingers clenching on the cotton between them, bunching it up on the sides of Eliot's legs and then slowly, teasingly pulling his boxers down, inch by excruciating inch, the waistband catching his cockhead and pulling it outwards and down, angling it towards her mouth, she slowly moves her hands forwards until she is gripping the fabric on either side of his cock, holding her mouth just an inch away and breathing over the skin that has been exposed, before gently uncatching the cotton from around the head and replacing it with her mouth, stopping his cock from slapping up against his belly, and tentatively sucking on the end, it was enough to make him groan, watching his hard, hot, length entering her here for the first time, knowing no other had been here before, that this would forever be only his.

Eliot's fingers flexed in her hair, tightening his grip and pulling many strands loose to hang around her face, making her look even more disheveled, turning him on even more.

"That's right" he gasps "take more" he instructs, as she moves her mouth down below the head, still sucking lightly but also stroking her tongue over the frenulum and then sliding the tip of her tongue into the slit.

"Aaahhh, yes that's good" he praises, gasping irregularly before gently bringing her forward to take more into her mouth, she gets about halfway down his length before slowly pulling back, sucking harder, the suction pulling his foreskin back over the ridge of the head of his cock, feeling so tight and hot and wet, she softly brought her teeth closer together, not to bite but just to rub against the sensitive fold of his foreskin and at the frenulum beneath the head, before pushing back down over him hard, going down further than before, keeping her suction tight and her eyes on his face.

"Yes, I wanna..." he growls out before taking a firmer grip on her head and pulling back from her mouth, holding himself still just for a moment with only the head of his cock in her willing mouth before thrusting hard into her, feeling his cockhead hit the back of her throat and then slide down into that tight channel, feeling it flutter and then squeeze around the head, working him without having to move an inch, her hand suddenly on his balls, encircling them and gently tugging downwards, making the feelings in his cock even more intense, he pulls back giving her a chance to steal a breath and she rubs under the crown of his cock with her tongue, giving kitten licks over the slit, her rough tongue making him arch back and gasp.

When he thrusts back into her throat, feeling the tight rhythmic squeezing around his sensitive cockhead he brings his head forwards again, looking down at her he sees the wetness in her eyes and wonders if he's going too far, then he realises that she has her free hand down the front of her own open jeans, obviously working herself in time with the sucking of her mouth and the squeezing of her throat, enjoying this in just the way she had described, as a long held fantasy come true.

"Jay, god..., yes...., such a perfect mouth..., wanna fuck this throat forever...," he gasps out, telling her just how good it feels for him as he starts harshly thrusting in and out of her throat, his grip on her hair so tight she couldn't move even if she wanted, but she kneels there looking up at him with adoration in her eyes, accepting everything he's giving to her, getting off on being used by him, for the first time, so ungently, so desperately, then he starts to feel the tingling, the beginning of his knot and if he lets this happen while he's in her mouth, his cock in her throat, he'll choke her, he's got to stop even though it feels so perfect.

"No, stop!" He barks out, pushing her head away from him, "we can't do this, not now" he tells her looking into eyes swimming with rejection.

"We can't keep goin', not while I'm in rut, I could suffocate you" Eliot explains.

"It's... it's OK! I like it, we can carry on..." Jayda says leaning forward trying to ensnare his cock in her warm mouth again.

"No, Jay, we can't, trust me on this, OK?" He begs dropping to his knees in front of her and pulling her against himself, removing his hands from her hair and rubbing down her back.

"What now?" Jayda asks him, knowing that this was not the end she envisioned in her fantasies.

"Well..." Eliot starts to answer, looking down at his half inflated knot and considering his options "we can stop, you have a bath, let my body calm down, start again in a bit, or we can have kisses and cuddles, bring each other off with our hands, I could go down on you, give you pleasure like you've just given me, or I can take care of this on my own, then come scrub your back when I'm done"

"Well not the last option that's for sure" Jayda tells him in no uncertain terms "and not the first either, I kinda like the idea of you going down on me, but I think I'm gonna go for mutual handjobs" she decides, smoothly getting to her feet and pulling Eliot up behind her before leading him to the bed. 

"you know we could try to get your knot into me if you want..." she offers looking at his only partially-blown knot.

"No baby, it's too sensitive for that" he tells her leaning down to kiss her while starting to undo the buttons of her overshirt, she follows his example and starts to undo his, being much gentler than she had been to the shirt he was wearing earlier.

Eliot pushes the shirt off her shoulders, moving to kiss and nip down her neck, her shirt falling to her elbows where it's held in place by her arms being bent so she can undo his shirt.

"Let me" he says grabbing the hems of both his shirts and pulling them up over his head, leaving him naked, he moves forwards to kiss her again whilst he brushes his hands gently down her arms, causing goosebumps to trail in his fingertips wake, pushing the shirt the rest of the way down her arms until it drops to the floor, then trailing his hands back up to her neck, stroking and caressing the sensitive flesh of her throat while kissing her deeply, their tongues meeting and teasing each other, over and over again, his fingers slipping under the spaghetti straps of her tank top, pushing them down her arms and off before taking hold of the top of the tank and moving it down over her breasts and below all the way to her hips, his hands meet the spread fly of her jeans and slip inside moving around to the back to grip her boxers clad ass, using the looseness of the opened jeans to push them down off her hips and down onto her thighs, pulling away from the kiss, Eliot crouches slightly, taking the jeans down further before catching Jayda's nipple between his teeth, remembering how she liked a bit of pain earlier he allows his teeth to elongate a little using them to worry the sensitive flesh, Jayda's arms come up around his head, hands gripping tightly onto handfuls of his long hair, her head being thrown back on a gasping moan, while she's distracted he gets the jeans off her lower legs and uses his tongue to soothe the bitten nipple before moving to the other, once he's nibbling on the second nipple he gives serious consideration to throwing her on the bed and just going down on her, nibbling her protruding, aroused clit, tongue fucking her pussy, licking along the length of her slit and sucking on her pussy lips, he was getting excruciatingly aroused at just the thought, he knew it would take no time to get himself off while doing all that to her, he was so torn, but she said she didn't want that, so he puts that idea to one side for now, concentrating on getting her as naked as he was so he could give her as much pleasure as he can.

Eliot hooks his thumbs into the scrunched up tank top and slowly drags it downwards, when he meets the top of the boxer briefs she's wearing he hooks them too and slides it all past her hips, leaving it to drop to the floor, now that they were both naked Eliot wrapped his arms around Jayda's waist and stood up straight, lifting her up from the floor, her arms were already wrapped around his head and neck and at being lifted unexpectedly she instantly wrapped her legs around Eliot's waist, making the hypersensitive head of his cock rub against her wetness making them both groan.

"Oh god I wanna..." Eliot groans out, nudging at her entrance.

"I want you to..." she answers him, breathing onto his ear and neck.

"Won't work" he huffs out, sliding just the tip of his engorged cock into her.

"Aaahhhh, El... try? Please?" She begs of him.

"God, yes" he replies giving in to the wolf that just wants to breed his mate, even though his rational mind knows this won't work.

He walks over to the bed, tipping his bag onto the floor with one hand before gently laying Jayda down, his tip still inside her, her wet heat driving him crazy, he's more than halfway expanded, all the stimulation he's getting making his knot feel fizzy like small electric shocks, or firecrackers going off, he leans closer to her, thrusting himself into her until he reaches the beginning of the knot, the moment the swollen flesh is squeezed by her entrance he throws his head back and howls, in a way she's never heard when he's human.

"El? Are you alright?" She asks, worried that she's hurt him.

"So good, but too tight... I'm too sensitive to do this, I'm sorry" he gasps, tipping his forehead against her breastbone as he pulls out "I'll make it up to you, I promise" 

"It's OK" she says, taking hold of his head and raising it so that she can kiss him softly, "there's nothin' to make up, just be with me"

She scoots up the bed, Eliot following her until they are laid facing each other, with their heads on pillows only a couple of inches apart, Eliot reaches across and places his hand on her neck, stroking her jaw and cheek with his thumb before drawing her towards him for a kiss, it's a gentle touching of lips, moving against each other slowly, meaningfully as their bodies move closer together, Eliot drawing Jayda to him with an arm under her waist until they are pressed together their full lengths, Jayda's soft round breasts pushed up tightly against Eliot's hard pecs, her arm wrapped over his waist, her hand gripping his ass, his hard cock slipped between the lips of her pussy, slowly rubbing over her clit as Eliot starts to gently rock himself backwards and forwards, giving them both just the smallest stimulation while they kiss, their tongues sliding against each other, caressing slowly as their lips move, eventually the kiss becomes more passionate, Eliot's hand moving from Jayda's neck to her breast, taking hold of her aroused nipple and twisting it gently, making her gasp, she pulls him in tighter to her with the hand on his ass, making his thrusts against her clit harsher, then she brings that hand forward and slowly, gently wraps it around Eliot's knot, she can't encompass its full girth but she can grip most of it, and then she starts to pump it, gently sliding the knot backwards and forwards along the shaft just a little, while squeezing rhythmically, simulating the contractions of her inner muscles when he's inside her.

"Gah! Aaahhh! Oh my god, yes!" Eliot growls into her mouth, hips twitching erratically as his knot expands further.

Eliot takes the hand that has been tormenting Jayda's nipple and slides it down to her pussy, slipping his fingers between her lips parting them around her clit and stroking along the sides of her hard nub, teasing her maddeningly, before moving them further back, desperate to feel her wet heat surrounding some part of him, she lifts her leg, opening for him, giving him better access to her hidden centre, he can feel her wetness running out of her, she's so turned on, wanting him, he groans, slipping his fingers into her for the first time, a smooth, wet glide, all the way to his last knuckles, two fingers stroking her from the inside, touching her most secret place, feeling the shape of her in a new, more intimate way, before crooking his fingers forwards and stroking her g-spot, making her shudder and whine, grinding down on his fingers silently begging for more, he slips another finger into her and begins grinding the heel of his hand over her clit, pumping his fingers In and out, gently stroking her front wall, his fingertips pressing over her g-spot with every thrust, driving her closer to her orgasm with every move.

His knot is almost fully expanded now, swollen and hot at the base of his cock, her hand wrapped around it, working his root and knot, just like her pussy would if he was inside her, then her other hand slips forwards, taking hold of him behind the helmet of his cock, working his foreskin backwards and forwards over the head, thumbing the underside of the head where the frenulum lays, stroking one of his most sensitive spots, in tandem with the stimulation around his knot she's bringing him hurtling towards his climax, and he wants to mark her, needs to mark her, claiming her as his in a way other wolves will be able to smell immediately, he begins rubbing her more harshly, putting more pressure on both her g-spot and clit as he hammers his fingers in and out of her, she's panting now, not really kissing him anymore so much as sharing air from one's lungs into the other's, she's on the brink he knows, her wetness covering his hand right up to his wrist and he stops the thrusting of his hand, just rubbing and grinding into those two small bundles of nerves, before pinching gently inside of her, squeezing her g-spot between two of his fingers, feeling her gush over his hand and wrist, inner muscles clamping around his hand like nothing he's ever felt before, her thighs closing together over his wrist, holding him there while she writhes, he pulls her tightly to him with the arm that's still wrapped around her waist, kissing her ferociously as though trying to consume her, feeling her aftershocks in the way she tightens around his hand rhythmically until he pulls his hand back and timing it perfectly, just as she begins to tighten down again in an aftershock, pinches her clit between finger and thumb and squeezing tightly, making her cum again with a scream of his name, he brings his hand out from between her legs, bringing his fingers up to his lips so that he can finally taste her, closing his eyes and wrapping his tongue around his first two fingers he sucks, tasting her sweetness, adding to his own peaking desire, before he feels her tongue lapping at the back of his hand, tasting herself on him, and he's never felt anything more erotic than this near-virgin's tongue innocently kitten licking her own juices off the back of his scarred and abused knuckles, tasting herself for the first time, mixed with his own release from earlier, the taste of them, mates, forever bound together.

"Jayda-mate" he growls out, teeth extending all the way and eyes turning gold as she stares into them, panting, trying to catch her breath, he grabs her hip with his now free hand and rolls them so that Jayda is on her back, Eliot kneeled over her thighs, her hand still wrapped around his knot firmly, he starts to thrust into her hand, pulling his knot tightly against the circle of her fingers around his base, just like her entrance when he's inside of her, he rumbles out a wordless groan, gripping the side of his knot that Jayda's hand won't fit around, overlapping their fingers and squeezing down on his knot, wanting a tighter rougher feeling than she had dared to give him, before he grasps the length of his cock with his other hand working it in counterpoint to the thrusting of his hips against his knot, tightening down around the head of his cock on every pass, twisting his wrist and getting friction all around the ridge of his head, he was so close, the hot lava of his cum pooling inside his knot, ready to spurt out, to mark and breed his mate, to sire children who would be like him, be wolf pups that he could teach and love, he was so close, rubbing his balls against the wet hair on her pussy as he thrust into their tightly joined hands, into the stimulation on the length and head of his dick.

He could barely tear his gaze away from the sight of the purple head of his cock sliding in and out of his closed fist with her hand behind it squeezing his knot, but when he did he looked up along Jayda, seeing the look of hunger in her eyes, it brought him right to the brink, and he hung there, tormented, not quite able to tip over the edge, until he feels her free hand at his balls, he lifts a little expecting her to tug on them again like she had when on her knees for him, but instead her fingers, wet fingers he notices, slide past his balls and behind, then press firmly into the outer edge of his prostate through his perineum, the sensation was like a bomb going off in his balls, he instantly climaxes, shooting cum straight up along her body, splashing over her chest, neck and collarbones, the second spurt hits her belly, the soft unmarked skin below her navel, the next couple of spurts sliding down his cock to cover their hands around his deflating knot, dripping off their fingers and onto her sex, sliding down between her lips and over her clit, making her gasp at it's heat, he jerks his knot a couple more times, getting the final spurts to land directly on her clit, loving her reaction, his mate, wanting his cum on her if it can't be in her, he finally releases his knot.

His wolf demands that she be fully coated in his claim, making him stroke his fingers along her collarbones, gathering up his cum to take it to her nipples, rubbing it in as he caresses and teases at them, making her moan and squirm for him, before running his thumbs down the centre of her stomach together until he reaches her navel, where his thumbs part and start rubbing in the cum below her navel in random nonsense patterns, watching as it soaks into her skin marking her scent with his, so anyone with heightened senses would smell his claim on her, he knew this was pure animal instinct but he couldn't help himself, he had to make sure no other would touch her, she was HIS mate, only his, forever.

Then he slowly moves his thumb down to her clit, rubbing in his scalding seed, coating her most sensitive place in his claim, he moves off to one side and lays down facing her, still rubbing at her clit with his thumb, making her jerk and twitch as she rolls to face him, his other hand raising her leg again so that he can coat his fingers in the rest of his cum that had slipped between her lips, before thrusting three of them straight into her, making her yelp out then grind down frantically, wanting his cum inside of her, burning into her centre, she grabs his wrist, holding his hand still while she grinds down against it, chasing another orgasm, wanting to coat his fingers in her claim again, before demanding "another, give me another" a demand he was more than happy to grant, sliding his smallest finger in alongside the others he's amazed when her body engulfs his hand past the knuckles, the only thing stopping him from fully inserting his hand being his thumb, and god, he wants to do that, has never felt the need to do that to anyone before but here, now, it's all he can think of, so he clenches his fingers partway, rubbing at her g-spot with his first knuckles, his thumb pressing mercilessly at her clit while she starts to shake, she wraps her arms around his neck, drawing him in for a kiss, before moaning out "God, yes... Eliot.... there, right there..." as she tightens down around him, crushing his fingers and letting out a high pitched squeal as she cums, covering him in her juices again as she rocks on his hand, panting.

"Ssshhhh" he soothes, using his other hand to stroke her spine, kissing her gently and letting her come down from her orgasm.

"Mmmm, good?" He asks when he pulls back from their kiss, slowly extracting his hand from inside her and between her thighs, running his wet fingertips over her hip in random patterns.

"You have to ask?" She answers when her panting subsides, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Just making sure, darlin'" he tells her pulling her up against him, "we got maybe fifteen minutes until he gets interested again, so why don't you go run that bath?"

"Fifteen minutes?, God I'm gonna be exhausted by the time we're through ain't I?" She comments, "so no cuddle time then?"

"There'll be plenty of cuddle time, in the bath" he tells her, pushing her gently towards the side of the bed, she's going to climb off the bed only to find her knees too shakey to stand on.

"What the fuck...?" She mutters, never having experienced this before.

"What's up." Eliot asks reaching out to stroke her spine.

"What did you do to me? I can't stand up!" She questions him.

"Sweetheart, that's a normal reaction to a great orgasm or two in most people, it usually wears off quite quickly, you should be fine to make it to the bathroom, you'll just feel a little unsteady is all, just sit on the side of the bath while it fills rather than standing, I'm gonna go make that snack ok?" He says sitting up.

"So you're not feeling unsteady then?" She asks, the unspoken part of the question eluding Eliot's sated rut-brain.

"Nah I'm fine" he says snagging one of the pairs of boxer briefs off the floor and putting them on, leaving his back turned as he answers, meaning he misses the anguished look that passes across her face.

"Anythin' you want in particular?" He asks turning around, but by now Jayda has turned her back to him, slowly making her unsteady way to the bathroom.

"Anythin' is fine" she tells him over her shoulder in a totally even voice, belying the tears that run down her face "I'm not really that hungry" she adds as she slips through the bathroom door, leaving Eliot frowning in her wake because he knew she hadn't eaten in at least seven hours, probably longer, how could she not be hungry? He heads downstairs trying to clear his head enough to think about anything other than more sex.


	6. Bathing and Biting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the angst and porn continue....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I said it all in the previous chapters notes, so let us on with the porn!

Once in the kitchen he starts to rummage through the cupboards looking to see what he could throw together, his mind not really on what he was seeing, there was something... something nipping at the back of his mind, telling him there was something wrong here, at first he thinks it's an intruder, but after a good look around he can tell there's no one there, was it something that's happened over the day...? He quickly runs through the whole day in his mind, until he gets to the conversation he's just had with Jayda and her tone of voice just before he came down the stairs, he's heard it before, but when...., the night they last ran together, it was the same voice she used when she told him she wasn't angry, but she had to go and then ran off, using all her years of keeping up with a wolf to far outpace any other human, even him, when it hits him, her self doubt from earlier about her skills in bed, whether she was pleasing him, and now that question about his not being unsteady on his feet, after he just told her most people are that way after a good orgasm, God he was an idiot! 

He bolts up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and runs through the bedroom towards the sound of running water, when he pushes open the bathroom door he can't see Jayda and his heart rate spikes, where is she? She wouldn't do anything stupid would she? He turns back to the bedroom looking to see if he missed her on the way through but she's not there, he comes back into the bathroom and starts to turn off the water flowing into the huge stone bath when he hears it, quiet sniffling and gasping coming from behind the other side of the tub, as he walks around the bath she comes into view, sat on the floor with her back against the black rock of the tub, knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them and her face buried between her kneecaps, sobbing like her heart had been cut out.

"Oh darlin' no...." he says sliding to his knees next to her and wrapping her up in his arms.

"I'm sorry..." she she gasps out "I tried to make it good, I tried my best..." 

"Jay, look at me, look at me..." he cajoles turning her head to face him when she raises her head but still won't turn towards him, "it was good, hell it was fuckin' fantastic, just because I'm steady on my feet don't mean it wasn't, it just means I've had too much practice at sneakin' out of too many women's bedrooms over the years, because I never wanted to stay with them an' hold 'em an' kiss 'em like I do you, I never wanna leave your side, and you know what? in all those years, with all those women, I've never had sex as good as I've had with you, I promise" 

"But I just..." she starts with a hiccup, red-rimmed, wet eyes darting between his, trying to find any lie to his words.

"No, no more, there is nothing else to say on this matter, I've never been with anyone when I was in rut before, it was somethin' I only ever wanted to share with my mate, YOU, an' I got no regrets on waitin', it was that good an' that special, haven't never felt nuthin' like it, an' never want to feel anythin' again that isn't makin' love to you" taking her hand and brushing it against his already hard again cock he asks "does this tell you how good you did, how much I want you again, even now, when you've been cryin' an' I feel like shit for makin' that happen?, even now you're the sexiest creature I ever seen!" He rushes to tell her, letting his passion and desire pour into his words and his eyes, telling her in every way he can that she was perfect in his eyes.

"I'm sorry" she hiccups again "I didn't mean to make you mad or make you feel bad, I just feel like such a failure, an' I don't want you to leave me or cheat on me cause I'm no good" she says as she starts crying at the thought.

"Hey, no" he says softly pulling her onto his lap while he leans against the side of the bath "didn't your daddy tell you? Hell didn't I? Real wolves might not Mate for life like people like to think, but us were's? We do, when we claim a mate. It's for life, we never leave and we never stray, when your dad said earlier it was an unbreakable commitment he meant it, I'm yours and only yours, for the rest of my life, you can leave me if you ever want to but I'll be faithful to you to my dyin' day"

"Does it work that way when one of the pair is human?" She asks thinking it may be that the bond can't form unless both parties are wolves 

"I gotta admit I ain't sure about that," he confesses "I guess it's one of the things your daddy wants to talk to us about, but I'll tell you this, the thought of kissin' or touchin' any one of the women from my past, even for a con, makes me feel physically sick, so yeah I'm pretty sure the claim took and I'm yours forever, so smile ok? Everythin' is perfect"

"Nearly everythin' is perfect" she replies looking into his eyes.

"What? What's not perfect?" He asks wanting nothing but to make her smile.

"Well it's really fuckin' cold down here and you're hard but not inside me" she tells him smirking through the remnants of her tears.

"Bath first" he answers her, rubbing his length against her thigh where she's sitting on his lap "then more lovin', anyway anticipation makes it even better" he whispers into her ear.

He pushes her to her feet before grabbing the lip of the tub to haul himself up while she starts the taps running again, adding a liquid to the water making it foam up and scent the room with vanilla, then turning to him.

"I am sorry" she says looking down at the floor between them "I just don't know what I'm doin' an' it's makin' me so sure I'm gonna fuck up, I don't mean to ruin things or upset you, I'm just so desperate for this to go right, but now I know you won't never leave me my only worry is makin' you happy, so you gotta promise me you'll tell me if I don't OK?"

"Hey" he says coming to her and raising her chin with his fingers "that's one thing you don't never need to worry about, you make me happy whenever you're with me, you always have"

He leans in to kiss her, gently moving until he's up against her, just holding her securely while he kisses her, making her feel safe and loved.

When he pulls back from the kiss he smiles, still holding her in the steam filled air "where are your towels, baby?" He asks gently, nuzzling his nose against her temple.

"In the cabinet, you want the ones on the bottom shelf, and the washcloths are on the left side top shelf" she tells him, when he lets her go so that he can retrieve the towels, she reaches up to her badly disheveled braid and grabs the hanging end which reaches not quite to her waist with the multi layering she did to hold the length to her scalp, and brings it up around the point where it begins to hang free, in seconds she has it twisted into a bun of sorts on the back of her head, he's not sure how she's got it secured but it looks good, especially with all the loose tendrils around her face, and it'll keep it out of the water.

Once the tub is filled she leans over it to turn the taps off, making sure to give him a really good view of her ass as she bends over "hope you don't mind it really hot...." she warns him, taking the towels from him and putting them on the counter that incorporates the sinks before throwing the washcloths into the water, then she smiles at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and tipping her head up for a kiss.

Once they pull apart he says "c'mon then, into the water, I bet you still hate bein' cold right?" As he gently slaps her ass.

"Yeah I still hate being cold, that's why the water is so hot" she tells him, a little surprised he remembered, as she sits on the edge of the bath and swings her legs around and into the water, he sees her take a deep breath in a few seconds later and knew she had the water too hot, but he also knew it would do no good to offer to make the water cooler, she'd only get pissed at him, he'd seen her do it before in a hot tub at a party when they were teenagers, she was sat in the water quite happily while no one else could bare it for more than a few seconds, he'd always been worried that she'd scald herself badly one day, but it seemed nothing had changed in the intervening years, after about half a minute she slides down into the water, sighing as her skin turns boiled-lobster red under the water, he shakes his head at her, suddenly glad for his werewolf healing and pain tolerance, he had a feeling he was gonna need it, he sat on the edge of the tub just as she had and was about to swing his legs around when she speaks.

"El, don't, you know this water's gonna burn you, and were or not I'm not gonna let you do that to yourself, add some cold water, make it how you like it" she tells him, somehow suggesting that she had more sense than he did, even though she was sat in the same hot water she'd just told him he couldn't handle, but he wasn't gonna argue with her, so he leans and turns on the cold tap, letting it run for a short while before sticking his hand in the water to check the temperature and mix the water around, he quickly pulls his hand back, the water still being too hot, but not enough to cause burns, he waits a little while longer then does it again, this time the water is still very hot but doesn't feel like it's about to strip his skin off, so he turns the tap off and gets into the water, not sure where to settle he sits opposite Jayda parting his legs so they bracket hers under the water, she's still sat with her head tipped back, resting on the edge of the tub with her eyes closed, relaxing.

Eliot is just tying his hair back into a low tail when she raises her head, looking at him through heavy lidded eyes "what you doin' over there baby? You should be here with me..." she says rolling her head to one side indicating where she wanted him.

"Sorry sweetness, just didn't wanna disturb you, you looked so relaxed" he answers, moving across the tub to snuggle into her side, nuzzling her neck and ear gently, his stubble catching against her collarbone and jaw, making her moan low in her throat, she tips her head away from him, giving him more space to work as he starts adding in kisses and little nips to his nuzzling, his hand coming up to cup the opposite side of her face and neck, holding her in place, as his other hand snakes around her waist to pull her side tightly against him, eventually he turns her face towards him kissing her as passionately as he can, plundering every inch of her mouth, stroking and probing until he has her memorised, knows how she feels and tastes against him, how she likes to caress his tongue with her own, and how she'll nip at his lips or tongue if there is something in particular she wants.

After quite some time they both pull back breathing deeply and smiling into each other's eyes, Eliot moves to pull her into his lap but she grabs his arms stopping him, "if we start this now we ain't ever gonna get ourselves washed and clean" she tells him, stroking his forearms and distracting him.

He leans forwards and kisses her again, speaking against her lips "don' care" he gets out before diving back into the kiss with fervour, devouring her and breaking down her power to resist him.

"Well, I do" she says breathlessly, pushing against his chest gently so she has just enough room to speak.

He takes the hint and leans back a little, giving himself room to scowl and pout at her for ruining his wolf's fun.

"C'mon El! it'll only take a couple of minutes and then I'm all yours to do with as you please" she cajoles, stroking the centre of his chest gently.

"OK, whatever you want, then whatever I want" he rephrases, grinning that infuriating wolf-grin at her, making her roll her eyes at him.

He grabs one of the washcloths floating in the water, squeezing it as he looks around for some soap or body wash.

"Here" Jayda says handing him a bottle with no label on it, he looks at her with a raised eyebrow "it's home made body wash, to relax the spirit as well as the body, and it gets you clean" she tells him turning her back towards him in a silent request for him to wash her.

After adding some of the body wash to the cloth he's holding, Eliot moves over to sit behind Jayda and starts to slowly run the cloth in circles over the back of her neck and the top of her shoulders, moving closer until he's pressed up tight against her back, after he washes the skin that's above the water he rinses her clean with the other cloth before leaning in to kiss the sides and back of her neck, and down the back of her shoulders, running the soapy cloth against her back below the water he uses his free hand to push her shoulder to make her lean forward, making more of her back raise above the water but also pushing her ass further back, her cheeks stroking against the sides of his rock hard member, teasing him maddeningly, making him want to take her right here in the bath, no matter how bad an idea it might be, when he can't take the teasing any more he uses the hand that had been on her shoulder to wrap around the front of her neck, pulling her back up against him until he is moulded to her back, he tips her head so far back it's resting on his shoulder and he has her neck bared before him, he starts kissing along the line of her neck and shoulder before starting to nip and nibble at the taught flesh along her throat, making her gasp, all this time the other hand has been running the washcloth up and down her front, working in circles, washing her breasts one at a time and rubbing the rough fabric over hypersensitive, abused nipples, making her squirm and moan, when her chest and stomach are clean his hand dips between her legs, rubbing at the flesh and the hair there, wiping away the traces of his claim that remain, then he parts her lips and rubs over her swollen, aroused clit, the texture of the cloth making Jayda jump and shake in the water as he bites down on her shoulder, more gently than before but still commanding, once Eliot's sure she's clean he moves back from her, scrubbing at his own chest, stomach and legs quickly before wrapping his cloth covered hand around his aching, sensitive cock and giving a couple of firm strokes, making sure to clean every inch of himself for her, when he looks up from himself Jayda is kneeling in front of him in the water, watching him avidly, she motions for him to give her the cloth and turn around, so he does, she moves up behind him, scrubbing at his back in the same quick firm fashion he had used on his front, before plastering herself along his back, knees spread on either side of his hips and her breasts pushed up against the back of his ribs so hard he can feel the barbell that pierces one of her nipples, and she's grinding against his ass, rubbing her pussy against him, begging him to notice her arousal.

"Jayda,..." he gasps out "out of the water now! Before I lose my mind!

She can tell by his tone he's reaching the end of his control, it's a tone she heard a lot in their teenaged years, usually before Eliot started a fight, and she got good at recognising it.

So she pulls away from him and climbs to her feet, as she lifts one leg over the side of the bath Eliot gets a perfect view of her sex, open and clean and aroused, and he wants to taste her, is desperate to, so he grabs her around the thighs, pulling her backwards until his face is buried in her pussy, licking at her hole and along her parted lips, taking her clit between his teeth and sucking it making her shake.

"El,....Eliot!" She yelps "let go! I nearly fell when you yanked me!" Her shout is like a bucket of ice water over his head, he instantly lets go of everything except his steadying grip on her, not daring to release her in case she does fall.

"I... I'm so, so sorry Jay, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just... you lifted your leg and I could see everythin' and I wanted to taste you so bad... and I lost control... I'm so sorry" he stutters and babbles out, hanging his head in shame.

Jayda finishes getting out of the bath, limping over to the towels and opening one out and wrapping herself in the fluffy softness.

"That really scared me El," she tells him "it hurt and was unwanted, how would you feel if our positions had been reversed?, you in a precarious position, on one foot, unbalanced, on a slippery surface and then someone grabs you from behind and yanks unexpectedly, how would you react?"

"I'm sorry, you're right" he says standing up in the tub, still hanging his head "I'm an asshole and I should have better control of myself"

"I never said you were an asshole, El" she replies handing him the other towel as he steps out of the bath and she opens the drain "come through" she says, hugging herself within her towel.

He follows her into the bedroom where he stands uncertainly between the bathroom and the bed where she has sat down "What can I do to make this up to you? I never meant to hurt or scare you, I just.... I don't know what to do after fuckin' up like this" Eliot tells her reaching out for one of her hands but letting her have the choice of whether she'd allow it or not.

Taking his hand gently she looks up at him before she answers "love me, hold me, save me and never do anything like that to me again, that's all I'll ever ask of you Eliot Spencer"

Taking a deep breath in through his nose Eliot tells her "I can do that, I'll always do my absolute best to keep this promise, I will always do what you've just asked of me, I'm mostly human so I'll likely fuck up, but I'll always try" he smiles down at her, having the oddest feeling that he just made his wedding vows, but shakes the feeling off when she smiles back.

"C'mon then, time for bed" she tells him, quickly forgiving his mistake.

She stands and dries herself rapidly before limping across the room and putting her towel in the laundry hamper in the corner, Eliot follows her example, putting his hand at the small of her back as she turns back to the room, stopping her and getting her attention, making her look up at him.

"What did I do? Why are you limpin'?" He asks her, feeling another wave of shame that he'd actually caused her damage in his idiocy.

"When you pulled me backwards my foot was already down past the lip of the outside of the tub, it made my foot slam against the side of the lip, right on the ball of my ankle, it hurts to put weight on it but it's only a bruise" she explains to him, turning to face him and put her hands on his chest "I'll be fine"

"I'm still sorry" he tells her, stooping down slightly to get his arms around her back and legs and sweeping her off her feet and into his arms gently "walkin' on it'll make the bruisin' worse" he tells her carrying her to the bed and gently laying her down on it "you got any ice packs downstairs?" He asks lifting her leg to examine the bruise that is starting to blacken the inside of her ankle.

"No, I need to get some new ones and hadn't got around to it with everythin' that's happened, there's not really anythin' in the freezer that'll do in a pinch either, sorry" she replies, feeling like she should be better prepared than this.

"OK, here's what we'll do, you got bandages?" He asks, when she nods he continues "right, I'll take one, wet the first few inches in ice cold water, and use it to bandage your ankle, puttin' the wet part on the bruise as a makeshift cold pack, in the meantime, you walk as little as possible on it, deal?" He proposes.

"Deal" she answers, smiling, once she's told him where the bandages are he makes short work of putting his plan into action, once he's finished and put everything away he comes back to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Do you want me to sleep on the couch?" He asks, feeling that he'd deserve it after hurting her because he let his rut-brain control him.

"NO! Why would you think that?" She says, looking hurt and unsure.

"Because I hurt you" he answers, "I want you to feel safe not threatened" he explains.

"I never feel threatened with you, El" she tells him "bein' with you has always been the safest place in the world for me to be"

"Oh" he replies, feeling touched by her trust in him, even if he does feel it was unwarranted at the moment.

"Come to bed, baby" she whispers, she reaches out and takes his face in both her hands and kisses him softly before patting the bed next to her.

"Which side of the bed do you like to sleep on?" he asks her, happy to defer to her choice.

"Don't care" she answers with a wry smile "I ain't ever shared with anyone before so I got no preference."

"Oh! right then" he says, rolling his eyes at himself for not thinking of that "how about I take the side nearer the window? Then if anyone tries to come in that way I'll be between them and you, so I can protect you"

She raises an eyebrow at the last of his comment but doesn't call him on it, she still thinks it's cute he's trying to protect her all the time, like he forgets she's just as tough as him when she needs to be, so she just nods instead before slipping under the sheets and blankets.

"Do I need to go check door and window locks before comin' to bed?" He asks, he's willing to trust her if she says it's OK, but he has to ask to make sure.

"Everythin' is locked up tight, you've got nothin' to worry about here" she reassures him, flipping back the sheets so he can join her in bed.

"Your sure me sleepin' here's ok?" He double checks, not wanting her to feel pressured into letting him share her bed after what happened.

"I'm sure, now get in here, I'm cold and need you to warm me up" she says referring to the fact his metabolism runs faster than a normal human's, especially when he's in rut, and that means his body runs at a hotter temperature than a human's, meaning he always feels warm to other people.

"Yes, ma'am" he replies cheekily and slides into the bed next to her.

She slides down the bed until her head is resting on the pillow, arms outstretched to him making grabby hands at him. "Come here" she tells him, which he immediately obeys, snuggling into her, he rests his nose on her hair, smelling the slightest trace of vanilla from where the lowest part of her hair above her neck got a little damp in the water of the bath.

"Mmmmmm, that's nice" she says putting her cold toes against his warm leg, getting a yelp and a small glare in return.

"Don't be mad at me! I can't help bein' cold" she says tipping her head right back to look him in the face, fluttering her eyelashes at him trying to feign innocence.

Rather than answer Eliot leans down and kisses her slightly parted lips, almost immediately he licks along her lips, parting them further before diving into her mouth, tongue stroking at the roof of her mouth hungrily, he slowly turned her body to face him, pressing up against her naked form and moving his hands down to her ass to pull her tighter against him, suddenly, her hands, which were resting against his chest, flatten out and start pushing him away, and as soon as he realises what she wants he releases her, shuffling back a little to give her more room.

"I'm sorry, I just.... couldn't breathe cause I got a blocked nose from bein' upset.... and I panicked...I'm sorry" Jayda gasps out, cupping her hands around the sides of his neck as she leans her forehead against the centre of his breastbone, breathing deeply and trying to calm down "it just... it flashed me back to..... something that happened.... on a job once" she concludes.

"I'm sorry, darlin'" he apologises, "I didn't mean to make you feel suffocated, I just wanted to show you how much I love you and want you, what was the flashback about?" He asks gently.

"What? Oh shit, I said that bit out loud?" She asks going a little paler "it was just a retrieval that went south...." she trails off hoping he won't ask anymore about it.

"You don't wanna tell me do ya?" He asks gently once he's sure she isn't going to continue, curious but not wanting to push her into telling him something she's not ready to.

"Not yet, no, I... I just need a bit of time before I tell you certain things...., I need to be sure you won't see me as broken or damaged once I tell you" she confesses quietly.

"Nothin' could make me see you as damaged or broken, darlin', you're the strongest person I know" he swears to her "but if you don't wanna tell me or you feel you can't that's ok, I'll wait until you are able to tell me, I love you and trust you no matter what"

At his reassurances she slides her hands up into his hair and turns her face so her cheek is resting on his chest, cuddling in against him and whispers "thank you" before kissing his chest.

He gently wraps his arms around her, making sure not to grip too tight or squeeze her, being mindful of the things that might have happened to her, he knew torture much better than he wished he did, and he knew the worst ways to take power and hope from a prisoner, he just hoped that wasn't what had been done to her, or he might just have to pick up a gun and kill again, just the thought of all this makes him want to hold her tighter, let her know she's safe in his arms, but he knows that right now holding her tightly will have the opposite effect.

His thoughts are interrupted by her voice "El, stop thinkin' about it, I can feel how much you're tensin' up, like you're gettin' ready for a fight, there's no one here to fight, so calm down an' stop thinkin' of the worst case scenarios, all you'll do is drive yourself mad thinkin' on it"

"I'm sorry, baby" he says, dropping a kiss on the top of her head "I didn't mean to do that, are you ok now?" He asks her stroking her spine gently.

"Yeah, I'm ok" she answers tipping her head back to look up at him "how about you kiss me but give me chances to breathe this time" she smiles up at him in invitation.

"I think I can do that" Eliot answers leaning down to capture her lips with his, before tightening his arms just enough to pull her up the bed so they're on the same level again and then letting his hands drift down her spine, until they come to settle on her ass cheeks, squeezing gently. 

As they kiss he fights the urge to pull her to him, roll them and grind down against her, knowing now isn't the time to give in to his rut-brain, no matter how much his wolf is howling in his mind at the injustice of having his mate right there and not taking her, he wasn't a beast, no matter what his father had always thought, he would wait, he would make himself wait.

"Baby, what's wrong?" She asks him, pulling back from his lips and looking him in the eye "is this because I didn't tell y..."

"NO! No this isn't about that, I'm just tryin' not to be too pushy or demandin', after you panicked, I'm just bein' considerate or tryin' to be anyways" he interrupts her, tipping one side of his mouth up in a half-smile.

"You know somethin'?" She asks not giving him a chance to answer before continuing "you're an idiot sometimes Eliot Spencer, I asked you to kiss me, you ain't gotta hold back from me, I want you and I know you want me, I can feel it" she says taking one hand out of his hair and bringing it down to squeeze at his blood-swollen cock and stroke along it a few times.

"Ahhhh aaahhhh" he gasps out, the sensitive hot weight of his cock pulsing and jumping in her hand.

"So are you gonna keep hiding away from me or are you gonna make love to me all night like I want you to?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Do I look stupid?" He asks leaning in for a kiss.

"Well there was that one time with the pink hair..." she answers smirking making him pause and glare at her for a moment before darting forward and nipping her lip gently in revenge for bringing up that awful teenage prank he'd been a victim of, before kissing her passionately but quickly, still remembering that she can't breathe through her nose.

At the nip to her lips her hand convulsively squeezes his cock, making him groan as he kisses her, and buck his hips forwards into her tight grip on him, he pulls his head back from their kiss to look at her then rolls them so that she's under him, causing her to let go of him before he kisses her quickly again and moving to her neck, kissing and licking her pulse point, where he can feel the blood pumping under her skin hotly, his hands coming up from her ass and resting on the bed at either side of her rib cage as he undulates his body, rubbing himself against her lower belly, leaving a smear of thick precum in his wake.

"Jay, l...." Eliot starts before she interrupts him.

"Need you El, want you..." she breathes into his ear as she bends and parts her legs so that he is laying between them, he continues the movements of his body, rubbing lower now, just above the hair covering her most intimate of areas, leaving streaks and smears as he does, until there is no friction just a smooth, wet glide against her skin.

"Eliot! Don't tease me! Please don't make me wait..." she asks of him bringing one leg up and around his hips, changing their position again, so that he was now rubbing along the seam between her thigh and her pussy, getting caught up and tickled along his length by the hairs that are running down one side of him.

"Gotta get you ready for me, sweetheart" he tells her, fighting the urge to just plunge into her without warning, knowing that if she's not wet it'll hurt both of them, probably him more than her, he rearranges his arms so that one is under her shoulders, coming up to grip the opposite side of her neck, the other trailing down her body, pinching her nipple tightly before sliding his hand down and under, lifting the breast to his mouth to nibble and bite at the nipple, then he runs his hand down her stomach gathering some of his precum he left smeared on her on to his fingertips, before continuing down until he reached the hair covering her, sliding his finger through the middle until he reached the top of her slit, he uses his middle finger to rub over her clit a few times, making her arch up into his body, before sliding his fingers down to her entrance, only to find that not only is she wet, she's drenched, totally ready for him without his barely touching her, he makes a decision and slides his fingers into her anyway, stroking her from the inside the moment his fingers are able to reach.

"Oh god, yes, right there!" She hisses pulling herself up tight against him with the arm around his shoulders, he smiles into her neck loving to hear her pleasure, wondering if she'll be loud now there's no one around to hear them.

"More, like before!" She tells him, obviously happy to tell him what she wants and needs.

As he slides his fourth finger inside of her and starts rubbing her clit with his thumb and rubbing her g-spot from the inside she starts to tremble in his arms, letting out small quiet squeaks and squeals, at each one his hips jerk forward rubbing him against her inner thigh and leaving more smears of his precum.

"Mmmm" she squeals "need more, please El, more, like when you fill me" she begs, at first he thinks she means that she wants him to stop playing with his hand and enter her, then the meaning of her words filters through the haze in his brain and it just short-circuits, he wants to ask if she's sure, but one thing he has definitely learned in the past twelve hours is it pisses her off when you question if she's sure, so he keeps his mouth shut, releases her neck and sits up on his knees, he bites his lip, looking down at where most of his hand is inside of her, it's such a.... stimulating sight and he suddenly can't wait to see her with all of it in there, he draws back his hand enough to fit his thumb in against his palm, then uses the fingers of his other hand to spread her wetness over his thumb and down to his wrist, he looks up at her, and her eyes are half lidded, she's taking deep, slightly gasping breaths, she's gripping the pillows tightly and she's staring at his face in rapt attention, he takes a deep breath, hopes to God this goes right as it's one of the few things he's never done and slides his hand back into her, not all the way at once, just until he feels a slight squeeze around his hand, then pulls back and thrusts forwards again, this time until he reaches just before the widest part of his hand, he knows that this next thrust he's gonna try to push all the way in if he can, if she opens for him, and he is suddenly so goddamn nervous he's going to hurt her, but he can't let her down now, this is what she asked for, so he takes a deep breath in through his nose, presses down on her lower belly with his free hand and pushes, and he can feel her opening around his hand, he's got to the widest part and she hasn't said stop, she's just panting out these high pitched little whines as she breathes, then suddenly it's done, his hand is sliding into her and he curls his fingers around, making a fist inside of her so that more of his hand can fit inside, then he's up to his wrist, and he can feel her, pulsing and squeezing around him, and her breathing is frantic now, "Eliot...., rub me..., rub against me inside and out...., need you to..." she manages to get out while she writhes on the sheets, not quite sure how to do what she asks he starts with the simple part, brings his free hand down over her mound and slides his thumb through the hair to get between her lips and rub over her clit, as he does she shudders and clamps down on his wrist and hand, letting out a high pitched whine which he knows means she needs more stimulation, so making a guess at how to give it he tips his clenched fist forwards inside of her, opening out his hand as much as he can so that he's rubbing all her internal surfaces, then harshly rubs the knuckles facing the front of her body across her g-spot while pressing her clit hard against her pelvic bone, immediately she convulses up so that she is almost sat up on his wrist joint, screaming his name before falling backwards, panting like she just ran for her life, Eliot's stroking her thigh, trying to help her calm down before he tries to move his hand, he's being very careful not to move his hand - at all - until she is calmer, because he's never seen anyone react like that and he gets the feeling she might be hypersensitive for a while.

Once she has stopped gasping and is only breathing deeply he asks "you ok there?" Still stroking her thigh softly, "yeah, I'm... I don't actually have words for how I feel right now" she tells him, sounding confused.

"Well, does it feel good?" He tries, hoping the answer is yes.

"Yes and no, yes it felt great, mind blowin', unbelievable and like nuthin' I've ever felt before, but no because, well, you put your hand in me and not other parts, while it was great, I meant for you to be part of the pleasure too, I wanted us to be together" she answers him, turning her head away from him on the pillow.

"Well usin' my hand was just supposed to be a warm up to the main event to get you ready for me, I wasn't intendin' to do that to you, but I'm glad it felt good, and I kinda didn't realise we were meant to be finished, although I'm not sure my dick's gonna measure up too well against the width of my fist" he jokes self-deprecatingly.

Her head whips round to face him "don't you dare say such things, your dick is perfect the way it is, and just for the record, when your knot was inside me earlier it felt a damn lot bigger and more fillin' than your fist, ok?" She tells him angrily before asking, "are you gonna actually pull your hand out or you intendin' to leave it there all night?"

"Well I figured it was nice and warm in there..." he starts off before breaking down in laughter at the look on her face "I just didn't wanna while you were too sensitive, I didn't wanna hurt you" he tells her more seriously.

"Well you can go ahead" she says looking at him impatiently.

"You need the bathroom or somethin'?" He says, spotting the look as he starts pulling his hand back and slowly unfolding his fingers, which start to cramp up in protest of the abuse they suffered from her inner muscles, once he reaches the widest part of his hand he places his free hand on her lower belly and presses slightly as he pulls, she gives out a small whine of pain because her muscles have tightened down some around his wrist and the fit is a little tighter now, but suddenly his hand works free, coming out of her quickly in a small torrent of her juices that had been trapped inside her by his hand.

"Am I wet enough for you now?" She asks snarkily, raising her eyebrow at him, pissed that there's so much mess.

"You were plenty wet to begin with, actually, how come you were so wet when we just started?" He asks smiling his wolf-smile at her and then licking at his hand.

"That I could have answered twenty years ago" she says rolling her eyes at him "it's because You. Turn. Me. On. You always have, ever since I was eight years old I would come back from our runs soakin' wet an' achin' between my thighs for you, you got no idea how much I wanted to jump on you whenever we stopped by the lake an' you'd turn back to lay lookin' at the stars with me, it was torture"

At her confession he comes dangerously close to choking on his own tongue "since you were eight! An' how come I never noticed from your scent that you were aroused?" He asks wide-eyed.

"Yes, eight, that's when I went through puberty, but because you hadn't yet your sense of smell was still like a normal humans, by the time you caught up you'd only ever known my aroused smell with your wolf nose, so you never knew there was a difference" she tells him smiling as she runs her hand down his face "silly puppy"

"Hey!" He says snapping around to nip at her fingers making her laugh "is that why you always smelt like home to me?, 'cause even if I wasn't smart enough to know it, my body knew you were my mate, that you were, erm... receptive to me?

"Most likely, you never told me I smelled like home to you" she says shyly.

"Always, thought it was just you'd always been around me so it was a smell I associated with being safe, warm an' comforted, but now I know better, now I know it's the scent of my homelovemate, the one I was always meant to be with, I think I got a glimpse of it that night in the lake, the night I kissed you, an' it scared the livin' shit outta me, so bein' an idiot I ran away, headed to the first girl who would have me to try to hide from it, I swear I'm the stupidest son of a bitch to ever walk this earth for doin' that to you" he tells her gathering up her hands in his.

"Well that's over an' done with now, we're together an' that ain't ever gonna change" she says, leaning over their hands to kiss him "an' now I gotta pee" she announces getting up off the bed and limping into the bathroom.

"Where do you keep the clean sheets?" He calls after her, figuring he may as well change the bed while she was in there.

"It's OK I'll do it later" she calls back.

"Ok then" he says quietly to himself, laying back against the pillows, thinking how glad he was the wet patch wasn't on his side of the bed, even though he knew he was gonna insist on swapping when the time came, but in the meantime he'd think about the cause a little, so he started stroking himself, remembering how it felt to be so far inside her, how wet she'd been for him, the way she'd screamed his name, he wanted more of that, but for now he'd lay here and work himself until she came back and he'd find out if she wanted to continue, making himself comfortable he put one hand behind his head and started to stare up at what he expected to be a ceiling, but there was no ceiling, there was just the expanse of the night sky above the walls, he knew there was glass or something there because if not the room would be cold, they may be in Kentucky, but it was night in December, he'd know if there was no roof!

"You like it?" Jayda asks from the bathroom doorway, smiling at his confusion.

"Tell me you don't have a glass roof in a house built next to big trees" he says looking at her like she's gone mad.

"Nope it's made of metal" she tells him smirking.

"Not possible" he tells her "that'd be like sumthin' out of Star Trek, it don't exist, you're having me on"

"Nope! tellin' it true, it's clear aluminium, and yes your right it is sumthin' from Star Trek, or it was originally, so some genius went and made it for real, they're gonna be usin' it for the windows in the ISS, figured it'd be good for my roof too" she says with a shrug "if you don't believe me ask Hardison to look it up tomorrow for you, but then you'll owe me an apology" she finishes.

As he turns his head to stare through the roof again she comes fully into the room, grabbing one of the towels from the laundry basket as she passes and folding it as she limps to the bed.

"How's your ankle?" He asks noticing her limp is more pronounced.

"It's OK, I've had worse" she tells him smiling as she leans over him to lay the folded towel over the wet patch, her breasts hanging and swaying over his chest.

"C'mere" he says grabbing her around the waist when she's done with the towel, rolling her over him and onto her back under him, her head on the pillows.

"You've practiced that move!" She says pinching his side.

"Hey! No fair!" He answers, grabbing both of her hands with his and pinning them above her head before kissing her harshly.

"Eliot" she gasps when he pulls back from the kiss "are we gonna do this right this time?" 

Rather than answer Eliot darts his head in, nipping at her neck, while he pushes one leg in between hers, she moans and rubs against his thigh where it is pressed tightly against her pussy lips, he growls at feeling wetness coating his thigh, making him bite at her neck more harshly, knowing this woman, she always wanted him! 

After a couple of minutes of her grinding against his thigh, and her thigh grinding against his cock too, he brings his other leg over and forces it between hers, forcing her to spread her thighs wide for him, allowing him to smell her want, not that the room wasn't saturated with it already, with the scent of them both already, but it just smelled different when it was still on her, once he smelled it, knew she wanted him, he brings his hips down against hers, nudging between her pussy lips with the head of his cock, he hits her clit straight on with the head, making her gasp and raise her hips, tipping them to a better angle for him to enter her, once he feels her wetness on his tip he drives into her, hard, plunging in all the way to his balls, feeling her tighten around him harshly as he pauses a moment, the first few seconds of being inside her being so exhilarating if he doesn't pause he thinks he might cum, once that feeling passes he starts thrusting into her, quickly and roughly, panting into her hair and her neck, biting at her shoulder and forcing his fingers between hers, holding her down by their hands tangled above her head.

She raises her knees higher on either side of him, trying to find what angle will get him inside her the deepest, while also rubbing her clit to get her off again, as she lifts both feet off the bed and wraps them around his waist, hooking them together to secure them, he slips even deeper into her, making him growl into her ear, before kissing her passionately, all teeth and claiming.

After a few minutes she starts to let out little squeaky moans on every thrust, squeezing his waist with her legs trying to draw him in closer, harder, and even though Eliot has given over most of his control to his wolf he knows this means she's close, so he starts grinding against her, trapping her clit and pressing down hard on it with his pelvis, moments later he feels her tighten down around his cock, making him so very aware of his blood pounding through his veins to rush into his dick, then she bites down on his shoulder, hard, muffling the sound of her scream as she cums.

As soon as her inner walls stop spasming he pulls out, lets go of her hands and rolls her over so she's on her front, she feels him grab the very tops of her thighs, right where they meet her pussy and pull them apart before sliding his thick, hard cock back into her, his cock feeling even bigger because this position and angle made her so much tighter, the feeling was enough to bring her to the edge again, making her yell out.

Once he was fully seated inside of her Eliot brought his knees up until he was snugly tight against her ass, his knees on either side of her hips so that she couldn't move them, then he laid down along her back, taking hold of her hands again and pinning them against the bed at shoulder height, once he was done he drew his hips back and started thrusting into her hard, fast and deep.

Then he whispered in her ear "you're mine, you'll always be mine, no one is ever goin' to come close to you, gonna make sure everyone knows you're claimed by me, gonna make you stink of me" all the while pounding into her like a jackhammer, she starts to lift her hips wanting just a little bit more friction to tip her over the edge, once she was half way to kneeling Eliot raises one leg so that his foot is flat on the bed, giving him more leverage to put into his thrusts, as he starts to feel the tingling, burning feeling of his knot forming he lifts one of his hands, his fingers still linked with hers and brings them down between her legs.

"Wanna feel you do it" he rumbles out to her, pressing her fingers against her clit and rubbing them in a tight circle, then she takes over, his fingers resting along the backs of hers so he can feel everything she's doing to herself, before long she starts to shake, feeling his knot inside her, everything rubbing in the right places, Eliot grinding against her since he can't thrust in and out of her anymore because his knot's so big, and all it takes is one hard press of his fingers against the backs of hers as she rubs herself and she cums squeezing down on him, making him howl out her name followed by growled words she could only just understand "mate, gonna breed you, make you heavy with pups, MINE!" Before biting her, hard, as he cums, his teeth fully extended, right at the base of her neck where it meets the shoulder while he continues grinding into her.

"Oowwww, what the fuck, Eliot?" She shouts trying to pull away but not being able to, he's on top of her, has hold of both her hands and his bite on her neck means she can't move her shoulder without tearing the wound if he doesn't let go.

After another minute Jayda feels his teeth retract from her shoulder and his tongue start to lick at the wound, causing her to release a relieved breath, "what just happened?" She demands of him, still unable to turn her head far enough to face him because of his grip on her hands, the only answer she receives is a low whine from where he's still licking the wounds on her shoulder.

"No you don't! You don't get to complain about bein' called puppy an' then turn nonverbal when you know you've done somethin' wrong, or are you trying to be considered a BAD DOG?" She tells him, the last of it turning the sorrowful whine into a dangerous growl. "No Eliot, I'm not puttin' up with this, an' don't you fuckin' well dare growl at me like that ever again!" She shouts, trying to get her hands free and squirm away from him, which of course wasn't actually possible and was rather painful for both of them.

"Stop!" Eliot says, his voice still mostly a growl, but in a way she recognised from their teenaged years, this was his voice growling because he'd just changed back from being a wolf, which made no sense and made her try to get away even harder.

"I said stop Jayda! You're gonna hurt us both if you don't! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" He shouts at her, letting go of her hands so that he can wrap his arms around her chest and hold her relatively still.

"Why do you sound that way? Why do you sound like you've just changed back?" She cries, begging for an answer that will stop her from feeling scared of him.

"Because I nearly slipped, I nearly changed, he was so far in control I couldn't stop him from bitin' you, fully, like a wolf would to it's mate, I'm so sorry I hurt you an' even more that I scared you, this has never happened to me before, I don't know what to say, I'm scared that if I promise it won't happen again I'll make a liar of myself, an' I don't want to let you down like that, not when I've let you down so much already, all I can do is ask you to forgive me, again" he whispers into her ear, kissing her shoulder before burying his head into her neck and going silent.

"Is that why you didn't answer me when I asked what happened? Because you physically couldn't?" She asks more calmly, in answer she gets a nod against her neck and his arms give her a little squeeze.

"We're gonna need to talk about this once everythin's sorted out, ok?" She says much more gently, running her hands along his arms until she reaches his hands, so that she can hold onto his wrists comfortingly, again the answer she gets is a silent nod against her neck and a little squeeze.

A few moments later Jayda hears Eliot gasp quietly and then feels dampness on her neck, she realises immediately what's happening but she can't get her head around the idea, Eliot Spencer, the toughest hitter in the world, badass alpha werewolf and generally the toughest person she had ever heard of was... crying into her neck, it just didn't compute.

"El, shhh, please don't, not when I can't hold you, please shhh..." she whispers to him gripping his wrists tighter and pulling his arms tighter around herself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just... I only just got you and I'm fuckin' it up so much already, an' you can still leave me if I keep hurtin' you, hell I wouldn't blame you in the slightest, an' I can't be sure I won't hurt you again, damn, all it'll take is the wrong nightmare an' I could hurt you way worse than I already have and not even be conscious when I do it!, how am I supposed to live with it if I do that? An' how are you supposed to live with me with a threat like that loomin' over us?" He tells her, begging for answers she doesn't have.

"I don't know the answers to those questions, El, but what I can tell you is this, so long as damage is accidental, like a nightmare or what happened to my ankle, no matter how bad it is, you'll be forgiven, you might have to work for it a bit but you will be forgiven, but what you an' your wolf do that can be avoided like this bite? That I'm gonna get pissed about, now I'm gonna let this time go, put it down to you claimed me earlier an' this time was the wolf claimin' me, but that's done now so it better not happen again, as for how much we've both fucked up in the last twelve hours let's call it labour pains for the birth of our relationship, an' it's most likely been made a whole lot worse by you're being in rut, which you can't help, an' that you were never taught the things you should have been about bein' a wolf an' takin' a human mate back when we were kids, which also ain't your fault, that one rests right on your daddy's shoulders, so don't be upset, I ain't leaving' you, ever, an' everythin' else we'll sort out as we go, alright?" She promises him.

"A'right" he says nuzzling at her neck a little before licking over the bite again.

"Is it gonna scar?" She asks since she can't see it herself.

"I dunno, maybe, it's still bleedin' a bit, but I'm not sure how deep it goes exactly..." he says sheepishly.

"I love you, you know" she tells him in a gentle voice.

"I love you too, that's what makes you so special to me" he replies hugging her tighter.

"Ok, oh one other thing, do not ever change in the middle of havin' sex, that I won't forgive" she warns him, making him nuzzle further into her neck.

"I'm sorry" he says "one question, an' I'm just askin' not sayin' it'll ever happen, but what if we were out runnin', for example, an' I wanted to take you while I was in my other form, would that get me neutered or is that somethin' we can talk about?" He asks shyly.

"That's.... somethin' we can talk about, before it happens!" She tells him, knowing that all of this had been hard for him as well as her.

"El? Do you think you can move off my back? You're startin' to get awful heavy" she tells him, not wanting him to let go, just roll over so his weight isn't on her.

"Oh, sorry! I wasn't thinkin'" he says, unwrapping his arms from around her and pushing himself up, his re-hardening dick sliding slowly out of her, followed by a small stream of his cum.

"I'm so glad I'm laid on a towel" she says wryly, looking at him over her shoulder and giving him a small smile before flipping over and starting to clean herself with the towel.

"See! at least I laid you in the right place!" He says "redeemin' point?" He asks her.

"Yes you did somethin' good" she tells him shaking her head gently.

"Right, bathroom, two minutes" she says, limping over to the door and taking the other bath towel out of the hamper before dropping the cum-smeared one into it "hey, here put this on the bed same as the last one was will you? I'll change the sheets in the mornin'" she says tossing the second towel to Eliot before going into the bathroom to pee again.

"No problem" he says folding the towel the same way Jayda had and then laying it over the wet patch, when he hears the door swing open he comes over and scoops her into his arms again, carrying her to the bed before setting her down gently in it "I told you to stay off it" he reminds her, scowling at the innocent look she gives him.

"I'm sorry" she says reaching out to run her short fingernails down the length of his cock.

"Stop!" He says, jerking back from her touch "we gotta get some sleep, an' there's always the mornin'" he tells her, reaching over to squeeze her hand gently. "I gotta go get washed up, I'll just be a minute, ok?"

"Ok" she answers pulling the sheets and blankets up and snuggling down into the bed.

When he comes out a minute or two later he asks "where's the light switch? I'll turn it off while I'm up"

"Oh it's beside the bathroom door, there's another by the bedroom door too just so you know, there's also a light built into the headboard, I'll turn it on so you can see to get into the bed" she tells him, pressing a hidden switch on the headboard, which turns on a hidden light built into the bed that gives the room a soft gentle rose-coloured glow, once it's on he turns the room lights off and comes to get into the bed, when he's under the blankets he tells her "turn out the light and we'll figure out how we want to lay"

Once the light was out he asks her "how do you want me? Like on the plane with your head on my chest or shoulder? One of us spoonin' up to the other? separate sides of the bed not cuddlin'? What do you like the thought of?"

"Up until an hour ago I would have said with my head on your chest, but now I think i'd rather you spooned up behind me please" she replies rolling away from him so he can move forward and press against her naked back.

"This ok?" He asks, excruciatingly aware of his hard cock rubbing against the back of her thighs.

"Yeah, can you put your arms around me, please?" She asks quietly.

"Of course" he answers before clearing his throat and saying "I'm sorry about, well... bein' excited and all, I can't help it, it's usually pretty bad durin' rut, but with you here with me I've barely gone even semi soft, so tell me if it's a problem ok? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable" he tells her gently.

"Actually I like it, it's nice to know someone wants you so much an' finds you so attractive, an' to be honest, I kinda have a request, what i'd really like, if you can do it an' it won't be a problem, is if you'd be ok with slidin' into me an' our goin' to sleep like that, if you think you can, I just need to feel as close to you as I can right now, I guess I'm still havin' trouble believin' this is real" she confesses.

"That's not a problem, darlin', c'mere" he says pulling her tighter against his chest, then reaching down to lift her top leg "just for a minute" he whispers as he brings the head of his cock against her opening, her ever-present wetness on his tip making him want to start again, but he knows they need to sleep, or she does at least, so he slides slowly into her, all the way to the hilt, before grinding against her just a little, making her sigh, once he's settled inside of her, he pulls her so that she'd have as much of him inside her as possible, whilst still being comfortable, then presses her leg back down tightening her grip on him, before wrapping his arms around her tightly and rubbing his face into the hair at the back of her neck, smelling the vanilla from their bath earlier and thinking it matches her scent perfectly before sliding into the darkness of a dreamless sleep.


	7. Worst timing EVER!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a little more sex, some more angst, and then an unexpected call changes things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you may have noticed the tags have changed, I've decided to add them now so I don't forget later, I did warn at the beginning that this was gonna get dark, as I'm finishing chapter twelve (which has taken about as long to write as the first four or five did all together) this has gone to darker places than originally planned, also my main antagonist has changed, (thank god there's only been hints so far so it'll be easy enough to change) just to make my life harder, I swear my Eliot/Jayda muse is a sadistic bastard who's enjoying tormenting me let alone them, trust me when I say writing torture is so much harder than reading it, and I have new respect for darkfic writers, anyway hope you enjoy this chapter!

Eliot was awoken by the feeling of hottightwet moving away from him and sliding off his cock, still more than half asleep he growls deep in his chest and pulls the body he's buried in back against him roughly, hearing a sound of surprise and pain as he does.

"Mmmmrrrrrhhh!" He grunts out, not quite awake enough to speak properly yet.

"El are you awake?" Jayda asks him.

"Nnnnnhhhh" is the closest he gets to a proper answer, which she takes to mean 'yes I am but I'm saying no because I don't wanna move and I don't want you to either' sighing out through her nose Jayda tells him "lemme go Eliot or I'm gonna piss all over you and then be really angry at you!" Being as crude as possible to fully get his attention.

Huffing out grumpily he loosens his grip on her, waiting until she's slid half way off him again before thrusting into her firmly a few times, then fully releasing her.

"Oh, you bastard!" she cries, literally jumping out of bed to run to the bathroom, but she only lands and takes one step before she just drops out of view, hitting the floor and shouting out "El!" As she goes down.

He scrambles to the edge of the bed, looking down at her, sat on the floor holding the foot he'd hurt the night before.

"Eliot, you gotta get me into the bathroom, I wasn't exaggeratin' how desperate I am" she says already trying to work her way onto her feet, even though there's a good chance she won't be able to walk even if she does manage it.

"Wait" he says, jumping off the bed and kneeling down next to her, gathering her up into his arms and standing back up before swiftly making his way to the bathroom and putting her down onto the toilet seat "I should look at this" he says dropping to his knees and reaching for her foot while she just stares at him with her eyebrow raised "what?" He asks when he notices.

"Erm can I have a minute? You know, to pee in privacy? Please?" She requests, Eliot giving her a strange frown before getting back to his feet "sure, just shout me when you're done" he says going to stand in the bedroom so she feels more comfortable.

About a minute later he hears a soft "Eliot?" Come floating out of the bathroom, he rushes back through the doorway to find Jayda stood up on one foot, looking a little guilty, but this is not what grabs his attention, what pins his eyes to her and leaves him speechless is how she looks, her hair is half out of its braid, falling down in thin waves around her face, her neck is purple on one side with a huge bruise in the shape of his bite above the discolouration, the other side has the bite wound towards the back of the neck and shoulder, mostly scabbed over but still bleeding a little in a few spots, maybe she'd pulled at the scabs when she was trying to get up off the floor he thinks, her nipples are inflamed and red with small cuts and bruises all the way around them, the rest of her breasts, shoulders and stomach littered with small nip bruises, there are hand prints bruised into the flesh of her hips, thighs and wrists, to be blunt she looks like she was mauled by a wild animal and then raped by an even worse one, the only thing putting the lie to that idea is the soft smile she graces him with, full of love and acceptance before holding her arms out to him.

He instantly goes to her, wanting to feel her strong arms wrapped around his shoulders. 

"Oh gods I'm sorry!" He tells her burying his face in the hair hanging loose around her neck.

"What for? What's wrong, baby?" She asks, bringing her hands forward from resting in his hair at the back of his head and cupping his cheeks "what is it?"

"What I've done to you! You're covered in bruises, bites and cuts, you look like you've been mauled by a wild animal!" He tells her not quite having it in him to voice the rest of his thought out loud.

She grins up at him rolling her eyes affectionately before saying "well I kinda have been! Not that I minded a second of it other than that last bite! All the rest? That's exactly what I wanted from you, to share your love and your passion with you!" She drags him down into a kiss that quickly has him lifting her by the thighs and placing her on the countertop, pushing in between her legs until he can feel a hint of her wetness against the lowest part of his abs, just inches away from where his still solid cock is rubbing against the back of her thigh where it meets her ass, leaving sticky swipes of precum all over her thigh.

"Do we have time for this?" He asks, panting already as he pulls her right to the edge of the counter, and hooks his arms under her knees, forcing her to lean backwards just a little as he lifts them.

"Yes, it's still early, we have time" she reassures him, grabbing his waist and pulling him flush against her.

"I've gotta... wait" he says taking hold of her ankle and moving her leg up to his shoulder, freeing his hand so that he can guide his throbbing cock up and into her welcoming warmth.

"Ooohhhh.... Eliot, you feel so good,.... I swear this hard, heavy cock was made to be right here, inside of me, always...." she tells him, reaching forwards to run her short nails down the centre of his chest gently, the sensation meant to tease rather than hurt.

"Jayda, love you, you were made to fit me, like a hand in a glove, don't ever want us to not be together" he replies, taking hold of each of her thighs and lifting her slightly to the perfect height, before sliding in and out of her slowly, using his full length to make love to her in a gentle glide, filling her fully, before drawing back and teasing her with just his tip.

"Mmmm, yeah, right there..." she murmurs, reaching down to where they're joined, and stroking the part of him that would expand into his knot every time he pulls back from her, bringing him close to expanding and cumming embarrassingly fast.

"Gotta stop that baby" he tells her, between pants into her neck "I'm gettin' way too close already, and you ain't there yet" he manages to explain, "how about you rub yourself for me? He suggests.

A groan is his only reply as her fingers move from stroking his base to stroking her clit, running her fingers in circles around that sensitive nub of flesh, taking hold of the delicate metal ring that passes through her clit and jerking on it gently, twisting it between each jerk, making them both moan, her at the sensations passing through her body from her ministrations to her own flesh and him at the sight of her doing this to herself, watching as she showed him how she likes to be touched and stimulated, while he slowly pumps his cock firmly into her over and over again, he thinks of all the years alone she's waited for him, about how she's perfected her self-love as the only form of sexual release she ever had until now, added to the the feeling of her squeezing down on him in reaction to her self-stimulation it's enough to bring him to the edge, his knot expanding faster than ever before, catching on the rim of her entrance as he pulls back and then drives firmly into her, making her squeak in discomfort, knowing he won't be able to pull back out again, he starts grinding against her, leaning forward over her so he traps her fingers against her clit between them, panting harshly he whispers "do it, get us both there baby, need you to"

At his words she becomes frantic to please him, rubbing harshly at herself, sliding her fingers around either side of the base of his cock, below the knot, while he continues to grind into her and rock his hips the little that he can, for a moment he wonders if she intends to do what she had before when she pressed behind his balls, but then she slides her fingers forwards again, taking hold of the ring through her clit and pulling hard, making her shake and mewl before she takes the fleshy button in her fingers, positioning the ring right in the middle between her fingertips and pinching, squeezing as hard as she could before screaming as she clamped down on his knot like a vise, forcing his cum out of him in a scalding torrent, at such high pressure it hurts, making him howl out in pain and pleasure simultaneously, and making him pull her tightly against him as he curls over her further and puts his head to her chest as he experienced a feeling he's never encountered before.

"Hey, El? Are you ok there sweetheart?" She asks after a minute or two of him being curled over her like he's being protective or possessive of her, shuddering every few seconds and whining quietly in his throat when an occasional shudder is more pronounced.

"Have I hurt you?" She asks stroking his hair with her clean hand, the other still trapped between them where he's clamped against her, pelvis to pelvis.

After still not getting any reply except small thrusts into her and whimpers she asks "what's wrong, El? Are you hurt?" Getting frantic because she's scared he's hurt and because he won't answer she tries to get him to lift his head but he fights her, burying his face into her stomach and chest, until she loses her patience and grabs a handful of his hair tightly by the roots and forces his head up until she can see his face, his eyes are now the familiar shade of gold she's seen so much over the last day, and all his teeth are fully extended, meaning he can't close his mouth properly, which means he can't speak either, once he knows she's had a good look he goes back to burying his face in her chest.

"Eliot, answer me by noddin' or shakin' your head ok?" She asks wanting to at least find out if he's hurt somehow.

"Are you hurt?" She asks first, starting with what she thinks is an easy question, Eliot shakes his head, then shrugs his shoulders, then whines loudly, making sure she is completely confused by his answer.

"Ok, so your answer was no, maybe, I'm... uncomfortable?" She tries, attempting to put words to each of his actions, he shrugs then nods against her, nuzzling into the space between her breasts.

"That one meant, I dunno, close enough?" She says getting an emphatic nod.

"So your in pain but not exactly hurt?" She asks, this time getting a low yip/growl she takes to mean she's hit the nail on the head.

"Ok here's what we'll do, we can either stay here with my ass freezin' to this stone, we can try movin' to the bed or we can lay on the floor in here until we can get apart, which option do you like?" She says, to which Eliot taps her on the shoulder twice with two fingers, "you wanna go to the bed?" She checks with him, to which he manages to growl out a barely understandable "yes!"

As Eliot straightens up from his curled over her position she's able to free her fingers, meaning she can finally pull her hand out from in between them, she takes hold of his shoulders with both hands, knowing she's going to have to trust him not to drop her even though he's in pain, then wraps her legs around his waist firmly, shifting their position against each other making him hiss a little.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it" she tells him quietly, stroking the backs of his shoulders, "I'm ready to move when you are, ok?" She tells him, holding on tightly, then she feels his hands grab each ass cheek firmly, he leans back a little and lifts her like she weighs nothing to him, shuffling on his feet to get his centre of balance before slowly, if a little unsteadily, walking through to the bedroom, when he reaches the bed rather than lay her down he climbs onto it on his knees and shuffles forwards until they are right in the centre, then he lays her down, laying on top of her and pulling one of the discarded blankets over them to stop her from getting any colder, once they're settled he lets out a gusting sigh against her neck, licking at the bite mark he'd left the night before.

"Are you doing better now?" She asks hoping for a spoken answer this time.

"Sore" he tells her in his half-growl voice, letting a small shudder work through his body.

"What's made you sore sweetness? Was it somethin' I did?" She worries.

"Too sudden, too tight" he answers, wanting to tell her more but not able to just yet.

"Alright, we'll just lay here an' I'll stroke your hair an' your back until we're ok to move, no problem" she tells him.

"Love you" he gets out before kissing her forehead, making her smile.

"Love you, too" she replies, her inner muscles twitching and squeezing down on him, making him thrust into her as much as he could with a whimper.

"Sorry!" She whispers quickly, "is ok" he answers kissing her face again, before slowly pulling his hips back, sliding part way out before his knot catches and he pushes back in again gently.

"Dammit!" He grunts out, getting frustrated at his own body's reactions.

"It's ok, baby" Jayda soothes him "we're nearly there, how about you tell me how I hurt you?" She asks, trying to look into his newly blue, eyes.

"My knot expanded too quick an' caught on you comin' out and goin' back in, which left me kinda sore, an' then you came too suddenly, without the slow build up squeezes, so when you did cum you squeezed me so tight, it was unbelievably painful, even as it was the most pleasurable thing I ever felt, I can't describe how it felt, but in reaction my wolf tried to come out in self preservation, to protect me, you an'... well to protect us both from the threat that was causin' the pain." He explained, "I'm so sorry, I didn't turn, but it was closer than I ever want it to be, an' I couldn't come back until the pain stopped, an' that didn't happen until I stopped cummin', I'm sorry we got fucked up again"

"That's ok darlin', labour pains remember?" She tells him "an' I'm sorry I hurt you, forgive me?"

"Nuthin' to forgive" he says pulling back again and this time slipping free. "Fuck..." he says dropping to the mattress next to her.

"Not again, not yet" she answers looking sideways at him to see the raised eyebrow he gives her "you're awful" he tells her, pinching at her side before she rolls away, grabbing the towel off the bed and using it to clean herself up.

Once she's done the best she could with the towel she rubs it gently over his still rock-solid cock, trying to clean him as gently as she can.

"No! Stop! I'm just too sensitive, darlin', it hurts" he says squirming away from her a little until she takes the towel away from him, throwing it onto the foot of the bed and cuddling up against Eliot's side, "you got a plan for today?" She asks him, looking at his profile before resting her head on his chest and listening to his heart beat.

"Yeah, I'll tell it to everyone once we're all together, this should be easy for us, I hope" he tells her knowing he should tell her more but wanting just a little bit more private time together before letting the job intrude and he has to let them take her, no matter how short a time it was meant to be for, he was her mate, he was supposed to be there to protect her! He shakes his head gently to push the thoughts from the front of his mind.

"Bath or shower?" He asks her, not knowing what she might prefer in the mornings, running his fingertip along the side of her face, before bringing it under her chin and using it to tip her head so that he can kiss her.

"Mmmm, shower, nearly always shower in the mornin's and the bath at night, the bath relaxes me too much and the last thing I need is to be wantin' a nap all day!" She answers rolling over to face him, plastering her body tightly along his side, leaning up to kiss him again.

"You wanna share the big shower, or shower alone?" She asks him, curling her arm up around his neck to bring his mouth to hers again.

"We got time to share?" He asks not seeing a clock anywhere in the room.

Shifting up onto her elbow she stared down at him, laid flat on his back, his hair spread out around him, looking up at her "are you askin' if I wanna go again? When you just told me you were too sensitive for me to clean you?"

"That wasn't what I meant, but yeah I could go again, I can't help it, it's my wolf's imperative to breed, to keep goin' until the mate is pregnant" he tells her shrugging "it's not usually anywhere near this bad, I get horny, but the constant hard-on is completely new, so all I can figure is it's because it's the first time I've gone through rut with my mate with me" he says as he grins, leaning up to kiss her again.

"I am sorry I can't give you kids" she says quietly nuzzling her face into his neck.

"I told you, it's ok, when you feel ready we can try anyway and if it doesn't happen then we'll see about other options, ok?" He tells her kissing her ear.

"What do you mean we'll try when I'm ready?" She asks looking perplexed just as his phone starts ringing from his jeans pocket.

"Dammit Hardison!" He shouts out, sitting up and moving towards his jeans.

"WHAT?" He yells into the phone once he gets his hands on it "well you'd be in a bad mood too if someone hacked your phone to turn the ringer back on so they can disturb you when you're havin' an important conversation!" He growls out at the person on the other end, who Jayda suspects is Hardison.

"So what's so fuckin' important?" He demands, listening to the reply before hissing out "I swear I am going to kill you in the longest, slowest, most painful ways possible, Hardison!" Then hanging up and making a move as if he's going to throw it but stops himself at the last moment, clenching his fists and breathing harshly through his nose.

"What's wrong El?" She asks, moving to sit on the edge of the bed nearest him.

"He hacked the ringer on my phone, which I left switched off on purpose, and turned it on so that he could demand that I go out immediately and find a store that sells the only brand of orange soda he'll drink, and buy them out, like I'm his errand boy who don't have anythin' better to be doin' with my time!" He spits out, obviously fuming and spoiling for a fight.

"Ok we got about four hours until we need to set out for Ruby's, come with me" she says, holding out her hand for him to take before limping out of the bedroom to the head of the stairs.

"Hey, stop, you ain't goin' down the stairs on that ankle" he tells her before scooping her up in his arms and carrying her down to the ground floor. "Where we headin'?" he asked once he was at the bottom of the stairs just behind the kitchen wall.

"Well you got two choices" she tells him "wanna guess what they are? No? Ok well we can go out the back into the garden or we can go down to the basement" she says purposefully giving him options without context.

"Well since it's December I don't really wanna go out in the garden nude, so basement, those stairs there right?" He asks nodding at the staircase that led downwards from where he was stood with her still in his arms, she nods and he heads down the stairs, Jayda flipping on a light switch as they passed, at the bottom of the staircase there are double doors, with the kind of locks that would have Parker and Hardinson salivating at the challenge.

Once the doors are unlocked Jayda pushes them open and Eliot steps through, not able to really see anything due to the lack of lighting and having just come from a brightly lit hallway, he had a feeling the effect was intentional. 

Jayda squirms in his arms to be put down and once she is steady on her feet she limps off into the darkness on his right, almost immediately dim lighting comes up, slowly getting stronger, revealing a large training room and gym, with several doors leading into other rooms around the basement.

"If you wanna work out your anger there are punchin' bags or trainin' dummies, or if you prefer we can spar like we used to, though I fight dirtier now, be warned" she tells him, pointing out equipment as she names it.

"I ain't gonna spar with you with your foot messed up" he tells her "This is a really great place here, I love it, but let's go upstairs and I'll see to your foot, alright?"

"Ok, if you're sure...." she answers, heading back out the doors with Eliot on her heels.

"hey! C'mere! you're not climbin' those stairs with that foot!" He tells her picking her up again

Once they're back in the bedroom Eliot makes her sit down on the bed while he kneels on the floor, unwrapping her ankle gently, he can tell immediately that it's swollen more than it had been and is giving off quite a lot of heat, the bruising has spread in little tendrils up towards her lower leg, most likely following the blood vessels out of her foot "this isn't lookin' very good" he tells her gently pressing against the edges of the bruise getting hisses and sharp breaths from her as he does.

"Ok I gotta check this properly since you didn't let me last night" he tells her "this is gonna hurt" he takes hold of her leg just above the top of the bruise and holds the sole of her foot in his hand, as he starts to move the foot and ankle in various different ways she starts letting out little yelps, before long he moves her foot in an up and down motion and she bites off a scream trying to squirm away from his hands.

"Stop, hey,... hey, wait, stop, I'm done, I ain't gonna hurt you no more" he says stroking her lower leg with both hands "you're gonna need an x-ray, I think it might be broken" he tells her knowing he's going to have a fight on his hands.

"No" Jayda answers "I don't have time for all that shit right now, I'll just bandage it firmly and it'll be fine 'til everything's sorted, then I'll think about an x-ray" she tells him in a no-arguments voice.

"I'll let you get away with the bandage for now, but once we have Sarah and you safe you DO get the x-ray, no arguments, or I'll take you to the hospital myself right now and you can have a cast up to your knee, choice is yours" he replies.

"I still hate ultimatums!" She growls at him, huffing before continuing "fine once it's all sorted I have x-rays done, no matter what, alright?"

"Perfect, I knew you'd see it my way, baby" he answers leaning up to nuzzle her cheek as she growls at him again.

"So what do you wanna do now?" He asks kissing her and slowly pushing her back to lay on the bed.

"Well I thought we were gonna have a shower?" She tells him using the very tip of her tongue to lick over the stubble along his jawline, making him shudder where he is laid over her.

"Mmmm yeah" he moans out rubbing himself just a little against her hip.

"Oh wait! I remember what I was asking you when your phone rang!" She says suddenly. 

"Yeah? What was that?" He asks nuzzling her neck and nipping at her earlobe.

"I was asking what you meant when you said that when I was ready we'd at least try to have a baby, I didn't get what you meant" she tells him.

He stops nuzzling her and pulls his head back to look at her properly "well I figured that since you didn't mention protection back in Portland you must be on birth control, so I just meant that when you feel ready you can stop takin' 'em and we'll see what happens" he answers going back to nuzzling her.

"Erm... Eliot?" She starts, a nervous fluttery feeling starting in her guts "I didn't say anythin' about protection 'cause you'd just told me I was your mate and I figured that was the way it was done, I thought you'd insist if you didn't wanna be a dad yet so I didn't say anything, but I've never been on birth control, why would I bother? I never had any lovers and now I'm told I can't have kids so they'd be a waste of time"

"So technically we've been tryin' since yesterday?" He asks keeping his face buried in her neck.

"Yes... I'm sorry! I..." she starts, tears running down her face, beginning to panic again, not knowing how he's reacting.

"Don't you dare say you're sorry, the only things I want in this world are my team safe, my mate beside me, and our kids safe and happy, the kids might never happen, but at least we're trying, you're letting us try, that's a good thing, yes we should have talked about it first, but that don't matter so long as it's what we both want, is it what you want?" He asks her.

"I told you, I've always wanted kids with you" she answers kissing his shoulder.

"And you want them now?" He asks.

"Yes" she replies, the tears evident in her voice now.

"Then this is a good thing" he tells her.

"Are you sure?" She asks still not believing this is all happening.

"If I wasn't would I do this?" He asks moving so his dick rubbed over her mound instead of her hip "i'd have slid into you but your legs are closed" he whispers in her ear "open up for me baby, let me fill you up, let me breed you"

At his words she gasps loudly and lifts her leg, draping it over his hip, and uses the foot resting against his thigh to nudge at him to slide into position over her properly.

"Eliot!" She gasps out feeling the weight of him against her, his lips on her neck and his thighs between hers "need you, want you inside me, mate!"

Then his phone rings again.


	8. Shower time cuddles and histories collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our couple learn more about what they're up against, have a little fun in the giant shower, and find out that during their time apart they weren't as far away from each other as they thought they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're all enjoying!
> 
> I dedicate this chapter to peachfire (I don't know how to link their name so I hope they see this) they're the person to leave me my first EVER comment, and it was a nice one at that! So this one is for them...
> 
> Also I've finished chapter thirteen, the torture is about to get worse so I'm slowing down more, I can't believe how hard it is to write it but it's an important part of the story so I've gotta keep going, don't worry though the big bad is gonna get a wolf-sized whumping from our heroes, revenge is gonna be so, so sweet...

"DAMMIT HARDISON!!!!" He growls out, throwing himself off both her and the bed and scooping his phone up from on top of his jeans where he dropped it earlier.

"THIS BETTER BE A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, ALEC" he hisses once he answers the phone, going stone-still while he listens to his partners on the other end of the line "that doesn't make any sense though, why her? No-one knew how I felt about Jay but her and me, why do they think this has that kinda power..." he trails off, colour slowly draining out of his face "we gotta shower and get dressed, we'll be there in an hour" he says ending the call and dropping the phone before turning to Jayda.

"Hardison has found some things out we're gonna need to talk about" he says, watching as she turned as pale as him "anythin' you wanna tell me before I start?"

She shakes her head quickly, biting her lip, hard, which gets her a scowl.

"Right, I get from that response that there is somethin' you should tell me but you ain't gonna, it better not be important in this or you an' me will be havin' serious words, so, the woman we have the photo of is someone who works both hitter and assassin jobs, has never done a kidnappin' before, which makes me think your idea that they don't intend to free Sarah might be right, what gave you that idea?" He asks.

"It was just a feelin', when they let us speak to her during a call, as proof of life, she said they scared her and laughed about things that weren't funny, they wouldn't let her say anymore but she's a genius, if she's saying that then the chances are it has a deeper meanin', like they're cold hearted bastards who would think nothin' of killin' her now if it didn't get in the way of them gettin' paid" she tells him.

"Right I'm gonna say a name, if you have ever run across, worked for or worked against them, I need to know, you gotta tell me the truth.... Moreau" he asks her his face deadly serious.

"I did some retrievals for Damien Moreau about six maybe six and a half years ago, I only met him once, after that I always dealt with his personal assistant, I stopped taking jobs from them when they told me that I was expected to kill anyone who saw me on a particular job, I told them I'm a lot of things but I ain't killing an innocent bystander for no reason, I never heard from them again" she tells him immediately.

"Did you ever tell anyone there about your connection to me? Or even that you knew me at all?" He asks.

"No,... oh wait, there was one girl, I'd been called to his villa in San Lorenzo, his 'harem' was in the sittin' room I was told to wait in, one of the girls was cryin' quietly and the others were all ignorin' her, so I asked what happened, when she turned her head to face me I could see that most of one side of her face had been beaten black and blue, I asked her who did this to her and she said that it was done by the personal assistant, Chapman, at the command of Mr Moreau, because of some imperfection or other in her manners or appearance, she was there as a warnin' and reminder to the other girls to always be at their best, they wouldn't have anythin' to do with her while she was still bruised in case it made Mr Moreau angry, that's why they were ignorin' her, she was really young and I felt really bad for her so when she asked me if all men were such monsters I told her about the man I loved, who had finally told me he loved me too, how gentle he always was and how dangerous he could be to anyone threatenin' the people he loved, told her how i'd sneaked out of our hotel room that night a few years before, all because I couldn't believe that it was true you felt that way for me, that I couldn't bare being told I got it wrong the next day after savin' myself for you my whole life, and how I regretted it ever since, I told that girl things I've never told anyone, before or since and when she asked this man's name I told her, Eliot, but I never said more than that, not like you're the only Eliot in the world after all" she explains.

"No, but I am the one who worked for Moreau as his 'personal assistant' before Chapman got the job" he tells her "so the things you told this girl could most likely be linked to me by anyone really tryin'"

He sighs and paces the room passing the foot of the bed where Jayda is sat a few times before coming to a halt in front of her "we, Leverage, put Damien Moreau in prison in San Lorenzo, he was never meant to be released, and he hasn't been, but somehow he has arranged this, paid for it all, whether it was to get at you or to get at me through you we don't know, Alec thinks Sarah was taken because she brings up the added weakness in me of being protective of kids, i'd do anythin' to keep a kid safe and he knows it, also it turns out I know the woman from the picture, she looks different now but I had a very short fling with her when I worked for Moreau, she was one of the 'harem' back then, long before she established herself as a killer for hire, there is a small chance that this is a personal job for her too, also to get at me through you, I'm sorry" he tells her.

"I know you Eliot, and one thing I can tell you for sure is THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT, I know you think it somehow is but you're wrong ok? We're gonna sort this out and then start our lives together, alright?" She answers smiling her sad smile up at him.

"C'mon, we gotta shower, you gonna help me since my foot is fucked up?" She asks.

"Course I am" he answers bending down and pushing the loose tendrils of her hair behind her ear "I love you" he says before kissing her gently and guiding her to her feet, wrapping her in his arms in a hug and kissing her again before turning for the bathroom.

After helping Jayda limp her way to the shower he goes to the cabinet again for towels and washcloths but stops with the door half closed when she says "there's two robes hung in the centre, you wanna grab them out?"

"Don't really think we have time to wear robes this is wash, dry, dress and out the door, do you still want one?" He asks.

"Good point" she says as the water starts "never mind for now, you're right we don't have time"

After hanging the towels on hooks where they can reach them he enters the shower space and closes the door, he can't help but notice that the glass wall and door is delicately etched with the pattern of bamboo and bamboo leaves and they look amazingly lifelike considering it's just etched glass, they're a truly beautiful work of art. 

"You like them?" She asks noticing him looking at the etching.

"What? Oh yeah, was just thinkin', they're a work of art!" He says coming over to wrap his arms around her shoulders under the spray, noticing for the first time she'd undone her braid.

"Yeah there's this guy, well kid really, in the tribe, his work is amazin', I'm thinkin' that if he gets offered a good college but not a scholarship that I might create one specially for him to go, his family can't afford to pay for him to go and I think it would be criminal for his talent to not be shared with the world, what do you think?" She asks him.

"If this is an example of his work I think you're right, and it's typical of you to want to help him, he's lucky to have you watchin' over him" he says kissing her in admiration.

"Don't be daft, I'm just doin' what anyone would in my place" she claims modestly "c'mon, let's get scrubbed"

Eliot takes a washcloth and the unlabelled bottle of body wash he's handed and starts to wash himself, noticing that this body wash had a very different scent, this one making him feel awake and alert, as Jayda starts to wash her hair, with it wet and plastered to her back he could see she hadn't been kidding, it reached to below halfway down her calf, it was amazing.

"I'd offer to help but I got no idea where i'd start" he tells her watching her work shampoo through her hair, she smiles up at him as she continues to work down the length of it.

"I'll be happy to teach you once we have more time" she says watching him wash himself "do you want to wash my back for me while I do the rest of my hair?" She asks, since she'd pulled the hair forward over one shoulder like a thick rope.

"Yeah, I can do that" he says, sounding slightly like he's in a trance, her lips quirk up into an almost-smirk as he rubs at his still hard dick with the cloth, working himself as if masturbating and not seeming to notice in the slightest until his eyes drift closed and she says "hey! Doin' my back? Today?" At which his head snaps up and his eyes open wide as he shakes his head to clear it.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry!" He says, slowly flushing a sweet pink colour high on his cheekbones, as she turns to start rinsing her hair, she smirks over her shoulder at him and says "it's OK baby, it was kinda hot watchin' you work yourself, we just don't have time is all"

As the water from her hair runs clear she grabs her conditioner and starts to coat her hair while Eliot starts to wash her back, starting at her neck and working downwards, when he reaches her ass he pauses to see if she says stop, but since she says nothing he continues washing one side then the other before nudging her legs apart to start cleaning her pussy, making her gasp when he wipes over her hyper-sensitive flesh.

"Aaahhhh, stop!" She tells him, moving away from his hand "I'm too sore for you to clean me there" she says as she turns towards him, "wanna wash my front too?" She asks with a small smile of invitation.

He smiles back and reaches out for her, moving her hair back over her shoulder to lay down her back again, as he starts to rub at her neck with the cloth he feels her hands slide into his hair, and then the cold sensation of shampoo hitting his scalp "what?" He asks moving his head back to look at her face properly.

"Well I figured while you did this for me i'd wash your hair, if that's ok?" She asks sounding a little nervous "of course it's ok, I just wasn't expectin' it is all" he says before moving his head back to where it had been as he washed her breasts thoroughly, he was just moving down to her stomach when she says "wait, rinse" so he stands up straight and quickly rinses the shampoo out of his hair, as he leans back down to do her lower belly, hips and legs she adds conditioner to his hair, rubbing it through before massaging his scalp firmly, making him groan.

"Hand over the cloth" she demands once she stops the massage, "turn around so I can get your back" she adds turning him by the shoulders before scrubbing his back in a firm massaging motion, while his back is still turned she gives between her legs a quick clean with the cloth before throwing it in the far corner ready for laundry and reaching back up to Eliot's hair to rinse out the conditioner, once she was sure his hair was clean of it she gave his ass a gentle slap and tells him "out you go! I'll be out in a minute!" Quickly taking his place under the spray and washing out the conditioner from her own hair.

When she limps out of the shower with her towel wrapped around her waist he hands her a smaller towel for her to use on her hair "while you're dryin' your hair a bit how about I wrap your ankle?" He asks looking at her concernedly.

"That would be great" she says and smiles as he lifts her and sits her on the counter, in moments he's got her first aid supplies out from one of the cupboards under the counter and he's on his knees wrapping a bandage firmly around her bruised ankle, from where she's sat she can see through the parting of his towel how hard he still is and she wishes again they had more time to be together, feeling oddly cheated by fate that he had to be in rut now when they both need to be clear headed, it just wasn't fair.

"Hey! You ok?" He asks sharply "I asked if it felt ok and you just kept starin' down at me like you didn't hear" he says.

"Oh! It feels fine, thank you!" She answers, a light blush staining her cheeks and neck at getting caught thinking about him that way.

She slides down and leans in front of one of the sinks picking up her toothbrush, before she starts brushing she looks up at him watching her "there's a spare toothbrush in the top drawer there" she tells him indicating a set of drawers under the end of the counter, "thanks" he replies before setting about brushing.

Once they're both finished with their faces washed and dried he says "Ok, well c'mon, dried and dressed" as he's heading into the bedroom.

"Yes, sir!" She says following him, her hair already partly dried into waves down her damp back.

After quickly drying themselves off they each get dressed, him into jeans, a black wifebeater and an emerald coloured buttondown, her into blue jeans, a black sports bra, a black t-shirt and a burgundy waistcoat, with a pair of fluffy socks on her feet, after a moments searching Eliot asks "where did I leave my boots?" His memories of the night before being a bit fuzzy in places where his wolf was more in control.

"Bathroom" she answers smirking at him, taking out several wickedly sharp knives of various shapes and sizes from her dresser, she hides them on her body before picking up a wide, fitted leather bracelet and putting it on too, smiling at the thought of the hidden garrotte that was built into it, as Eliot comes back into the bedroom wearing his boots she ties her hair back into a pony tail and then twists up about three foot of it onto the back of her head and inserting two hair sticks and three large, long hairpins to hold it in place.

"That looks gorgeous" he says coming up behind her and kissing her newly exposed neck, noticing that her scent was starting to change slightly, to just incorporate small hints of his own and the universal scent that mates have that screams 'taken!' To the unmated, it's only a tiny subtle change, but it means the world to him to smell it on her, because to him, as her mate, it makes her scent even more alluring.

"Thank you" she says turning to kiss him before taking his hand and tugging him out of the bedroom and down the stairs, she's still limping, but not as badly he notices, hoping she's not doing more damage to her ankle than he already caused.

Once they're in the living room Eliot picks up his jacket while Jayda pulls her boots on by the door, wincing and taking in a sharp breath on the injured foot he notes, scowling.

"Let's get goin'" she says tossing him the car keys.

"I'm drivin' again?" He asks.

"Well I can't drive my truck with my ankle like this, so yeah" she says locking the door behind them "I know that's why you did it, just so you could do the drivin', cause the man should always drive" she jokes putting on a macho voice for the last part, making him snort through his nose in amusement as he climbs into the drivers side.

"Yeah, cause I'm a misogynist like my daddy and his daddy before him" he says, laying on the southern in his accent as thick as he can and adding a twang of hillbilly to it too.

"You're awful!" She says laughing while she does up her seatbelt and then leans over to gently punch him in the arm.

"You started it!" He laughs, before adding "I love you"

"I love you too" she replies as they pull out of their driveway.

They sit in comfortable silence with small smiles on their faces while Eliot gets them out to the main road, driving this route for the first time, once they're on paved roads Eliot's eyes start flicking towards her every few seconds, "what? Do I have toothpaste on my face?" She asks feeling a little paranoid.

"Oh, sorry, I was just wonderin', you said you got a wound that caused internal scarrin' but you've got no scars on your lower abs, how and where did the wound happen?" He asks gently, knowing this might be one of the things she's not ready to tell him.

"There was no external wound" she tells him, "all the damage is internal" she continues before taking a shaky breath and asking "is it ok if we leave this to talk about later? I don't think I can talk about it right now"

"Of course it's ok, I can wait" he says reaching over and squeezing her hand, staying like that until they pull up outside her father's house.

As they get out of the truck and head for the kitchen door Ruby's husband Jared comes barrelling out of it, he heads straight for Jayda, making Eliot step between them in defence of the woman he loves, but Jayda lays a hand on his arm gently and when he turns to look at her she says quietly "it's ok, I can take care of myself now" he wants to argue that it was his responsibility to protect her, but he knew it would do no good, so he just lets out a small, whispered whine at her instead "I know but it's ok" she answers him "you go on inside, I'll deal with this"

As much as he hated it Eliot turned towards the door, glaring at Jared as they approach each other, just as they pass each other Jared says "that's right be a good doggy..." followed by the kind of cruel laugh that started so many fights in their teenaged years, Eliot span on his heel, growling, ready to attack Jared's back, but when he saw Jayda she just shook her head at him, making it clear she wanted him to go inside.

Once she's watched Eliot go into the house and close the door behind him she turns to Jared "what do you want, white hawk?" She asks.

"I want you and your mutt gone from here" he shouts "this is all your fault! We adopted those two girls to give them a good life, better than they would ever have had with their 'real' mothers" he says looking her up and down while making the air quotes gesture "but nnnnooooo!, you have to bring your shit with that mongrel, here, into our lives, like her being infected wasn't bad enough and now MY daughter might die just to get at him! It's not like he even knows her, what a special little girl she is, after all he's never been part of her life! You made sure of that!" At this point her fist shoots out and cracks against his jaw, knocking him off his feet and into the dust of the pathway even though he was over a foot taller than her.

"First, don't you EVER let me hear you call Eliot a dog, mutt or mongrel ever again! He's not a dog and you know it, you also know Parker and Alec don't know about that so stop tryin' to cause shit by shoutin' it here in the hope they'll hear you" she then grabs his collar and drags him up so they're nose to nose before she hisses out in a deadly whisper "an' you know he don't know anythin' about the rest of it, so you ever even hint at that again I'll make sure you'll never walk again, and if you think Eliot's vicious, well he ain't got nuthin' on me!" Before shoving him back down on his ass, leaving him looking pathetic and beaten.

As she turns towards the house she's so angry she's not paying attention and misses the door closing the last two inches and Eliot's shadow moving quickly away from behind it.


	9. Eliot's puzzle starts to show a picture....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Jayda join the rest of the team and family to finalise plans for the exchange and Eliot starts to put the pieces together on some of the secrets being hidden from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm now half way through chapter fifteen and I'm still having a hard time writing because of the torture scenes, they're important to future plot but it is a hard thing to write about, so please bare with me on the slow updates, I'm doing the best I can.

When Jayda enters the house the kitchen is empty, which surprises her briefly as she thought Eliot would have been waiting for her, but she was glad he hadn't, she didn't want any of the Leverage team to hear anything Jared just said.

She follows the rumble of Eliot's voice growling into the sitting room again, where she finds him, Parker and Hardison and Ruby and Jane talking plans.

"Auntie Jay!!" Jane shouts, launching herself at Jayda and asking questions at a mile a minute.

"Hey, hey, slow down Tazzie! What going on?" Jayda asks her niece.

"Daddy's been shoutin' all day! and he said Sarah's not comin' back! and it's all you and your dog's fault! And you don't even have a dog! And I want my sister back!" She says all in one long go before bursting into tears, at her words Eliot pulls his top lip back and snarls in anger.

"Oh honey, your daddy's just scared that somethin' might happen to Sarah, so he's blamin' someone else for things goin' wrong, and that someone is me, he don't really mean any of it and me and my friends are gonna get Sarah back, I promise. So don't cry ok?" She answers rubbing away the little girl's tears and resting her on her hip in a cuddle.

"Ok, we all ready to start?" Parker asks before standing up and addressing the room.

"Right, it's been decided that we're going to make the hostage exchange today and swap Jayda for Sarah, along with the five milłion mini-ransom, because it would be better for an adult to be under their control than a child, they'll be calling with the details in a couple of hours, and we've been and collected the mini-ransom from the bank, so we're all set up for that. Then there are the things we've found out about who is behind this" she sums up what they have planned already, then turns to Hardison.

"Well, you two sure know how to pick enemies" he starts, looking from Eliot to Jayda and back again, "the money funding this is coming from one of Damien Moreau's accounts that I couldn't get my hands on when we sent him down, I don't know if it is actually Moreau doing this or if it's just someone has somehow got access to his money, but either way they know a lot about both of you, now, we know Eliot had previously had a fling with our female kidnapper back when she was 'kept' by Moreau, about seven to eight years ago, do you know why she has a problem with either of you so much?" He asks

"No idea, I've never seen her before" Jayda answers before looking to Eliot.

"Yes I know why she hates me" Eliot says rolling his eyes to look at the ceiling so he doesn't have to meet anyone's eyes.

"And...." Hardison prompts.

Eliot lowers his eyes, flashes a quick look at Jayda and sighs "it was when i'd been sleepin' with her that I met up with Jay unexpectedly on a job, after spendin' the night together I woke up alone, no note, and I realised that if I ever saw Jay again I wanted to be able to tell her I was a better man than the one she'd just walked out on, I wanted to be worthy of her, and that was never gonna happen while I worked for Moreau, so I stopped foolin' around with the girl and I was waitin' for the right time to quit when he sent me to kill the general and his family, and I just knew I couldn't do it, everyone was amazed when Moreau let me leave his service, no one ever lived to leave before, as I was on my way out of the villa she stopped me and begged me to take her with me, she said she loved me and I owed it to her, I told her I loved someone else, someone from back home, and I owed her absolutely nothin', she spat at me and I walked away, that was the last time I saw her, I didn't even recognise her from the picture she looks that different now, her name is Samantha, if she managed to find out where I grew up, who with, maybe she could have figured this out, but to be honest I just don't think she's smart enough to figure it out alone"

"Ok, any ideas on the rest of the crew?" Jayda asks Hardison.

"Yeah man, once I knew who was paying from where I could look at other payments from that account and see who else is being paid, and it's a long list just for kidnapping a little girl, they're all hired muscle, ex-armed forces, and low-level hitters, it stinks like all kindsa rotten" he answers her.

"Yeah but then her aunt is one of the top hitters in the world and is childhood friends with another, I think they intended for Jay to call in at least me, if not all three of us" Eliot points out.

"Auntie Jay? What's a hitter? Is it like in baseball?" Jane asks.

"Oh! No honey not like that, I'll tell you all about it later ok? Once we have Sarah back" Jayda replies, looking at her sister for help.

"C'mon Tazzie" Ruby says "lets go make lunch for everyone ok?"

"Ok!" She answers before turning to Eliot and asking "can I make you a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich?"

While Hardison asked Jayda "why do you call her Tazzie?" And she tells him "its cause she's so hyperactive, like the Tasmanian devil, so Tazzie" she says shrugging while Eliot crouches down so he's on Jane's level and stage whispers "you got blueberry jelly?"

Jane leans towards him and whispers back "yes, it's my favourite"

"Well then" Eliot says grinning widely "I guess you'd be perfect to make me a sandwich then!"

To which Jane claps her hands and races out of the room towards the kitchen, closely followed by her mother.

While this interaction went on Jayda stood off to one side, biting her lip and hugging herself while she watched with wide eyes "you're great with kids" she tells him before limping past to head for the bathroom.

"Hey. you ok?" He asks noticing she looks a little wet-eyed.

"I'm fine, I'll be back in a minute" she answers slipping around him, he lets her go, thinking she's upset over the fact they might never have kids together, before thinking about what he overheard from outside and making a decision.

Once she leaves the room Eliot comes to stand over Hardison "Alec I need you to do something for me" he asks quietly.

"What's up?" Hardison asks

"I need to know what blood group Jayda is and what blood group Sarah is" he asks looking Hardison in the eye.

"Why you need to know that man? We don't need to know that for the drop to work" Hardison asks giving him a considering look.

"Because I need to know if Jayda is Sarah's mother" Eliot says, Parker gasping in a breath but staying silent at a look from Hardison.

"Dude, if she is then I'm guessing she ain't told you, this is the kinda thing you let people tell in their own time" Hardison councils him.

"Right now I don't care about that! I need to know who that little girl's parents are!" Eliot snarls out at him.

"Ruby and Jared are her parents, I told you that back in Portland, leave it alone" Jayda says defeatedly from the doorway before turning and going out of the front door.

She still hasn't returned by the time the kidnappers call to set up the ransom and hostage exchange, They demand that Eliot be the one to drive Jayda in and Sarah out, the team are not surprised that the kidnappers know that Leverage are there, now that they know who they're dealing with they know they were expected.

Hardison refused to give Eliot the information he wanted, saying Jayda said to leave it so he wasn't going against her, mainly because she scared him more than Eliot ever had, at which Eliot went into the little downstairs bathroom and growled under his breath for over a minute, after that he took to pacing the rooms like a caged animal, getting more and more angry.

As it came close to time to set off Eliot decided to go out to hunt Jayda down, he stepped out of the front door, turned right, and found her asleep, wrapped up in a blanket, on the ancient porch swing, the tracks of tears clear on her face.

Immediately he felt bad, she'd told him there were things she would tell him when she was ready, but he never expected that this might be one of them, that something had happened that would be bad enough to ever make her give up her child.

And now she'd been sat here all along, alone, she'd never really left the house, if he'd just come after her this might have been sorted by now, he'd know if he's putting two and two together and getting seventeen, but yet again he didn't give chase when he should have and she'd been left to cry alone again, was he never going to learn!

"Jay" he says softly, his voice coming out in a protective rumble at the sight of his mate so upset, gently stroking her face.

"WHAT!NO!STOP!" She yells sitting bolt upright and grabbing and twisting his hand, putting him in serious danger of his wrist being broken.

"Jay! It's OK it's me, Eliot!" He quickly says, when her eyes come into focus she looks at him then drops his hand suddenly, "I'm sorry" she says in a bland, lifeless voice "is it time to go?"

"Jay? What's wrong darlin'?" He asks looking from one eye to the other only to see none of the fire that has always been there.

"It's all fucked up now, let's just go get Sarah safe and then it'll be over and done with" she says in that same toneless voice

"Jay, you're seriously scarin' me" Eliot says, taking her shoulders in his hands as he kneels down beside her "what's all fucked up? I'm right here, please tell me baby" he says brushing some loose strands of hair back behind her ear gently.

When she meets his eyes this time he at least gets the sense of someone looking out at him, "why bother?" She says "we've got a job to do" and stands up so suddenly she gets her legs caught in the blanket and starts to tip over, as Eliot reaches to steady her she pulls back from him as if his touch burns "please don't" she says before rushing inside, leaving Eliot sat by the swing feeling confused and hurt.

When he joins them inside he arrives just in time to hear the end of Hardison explaining where each GPS locator would go on her person and handing out earbuds to all the members of the team, while Eliot and Jayda had been busy the night before Parker and Hardison had hired a van and outfitted it a la Lucille, so they'd be parked nearby in that while Jayda and Eliot took her truck.

"So is there anything you don't understand?" Hardison finally asks.

"No, I got it" Jayda replied in that hollow voice before going to pick up the bag with the ransom in it from the kitchen.

"Eliot!! What did you do man?" Hardison hisses the moment she's out the door.

"I don't know, she was asleep on the porch swing, when I woke her up she nearly broke my wrist and then started to talk like that, it's really fuckin' freakin' me out!" He answers

"Well fix it!" He hisses back, giving Eliot his best impersonation of one of Eliot's 'death-stares'.

"Ok, lets go!" Parker says ushering her boys out of the room, seriously considering giving them both a smack upside the head over this.

Once by the trucks Parker pulls Jayda to one side to whisper, "hey, Jay? I know you're pissed at Alec and Eliot, but just so you know, Alec never told him what he wanted to know, we knew the minute we saw the picture of her, she has his eyes, but we're not gonna tell him, I don't know what tipped him off, but I promise we're not gonna be involved, it's between the two of you, when you're ready to tell him" she says giving Jayda a little private smile before putting her earbud in, Jayda smiled back sadly and pulled Parker in to give her a hug "thank you!" She breathes into the ear without the earbud.

"C'mon let's get movin'" Parker shouts as she comes back to the boys and drags Hardinson towards their van.

Jayda climbs into the passenger side of her truck and waits for Eliot to join her before holding out the keys to him, but before he takes them he turns in his seat to face her and asks "are you gonna talk to me now?" Watching her profile closely.

"I have been talkin' to you" she answers without turning to look at him, her voice not as empty as before but still not normal.

"I'm sorry" he says not sure what else he can do or say to fix this.

"Do you need to know? Like really, honestly, truly, need to know?" She asks.

After thinking for a few moments he answers "Yes I do, I need to know, but not until you're ready to tell me, I'll not snoop or ask anyone else to again, I'll wait for you to be ready" he tells her stroking the side of her face gently, "will my needin' to know fuck everythin' up still?" He asks staring at her hands fidgeting with the truck keys.

"I don't know" she says, her voice cracking, making him look up to see a tear rolling down her cheek.

"No, darlin', no, it'll be ok, we'll get through all this and then start our new life together, remember?" He asks wiping the tear away and turning her head to face him.

"I love you, and I always will, no matter what, ok?" He tells her

"I love you too, I don't want you to hate me!" She says.

"I couldn't ever hate you, I promise" Eliot swears to her, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs before leaning forward and kissing her.

"We gotta go, but we'll talk as soon as you're back ok?" He says taking the keys gently and starting the truck.

"Ok" she answers curling up in her seat to quietly watch him drive.

They don't speak again until just before they reach the decrepit refinery that has been chosen for the exchange, Eliot pulls over to the side of the road and stops the truck before saying "I know things ain't perfect here but I need to know before I let you do this, are we ok? Are you gonna come back to me to start our life together? Once all this is over, do you still wanna be with me?"

Jayda slowly raises her eyes to his, blinking a couple of times before moving across the seat and putting her arms around his waist "Eliot, I've waited my whole life to be with you, so long as you don't hate me, I'll always want to stay, I'm your mate" she says snuggling in under his chin for just a minute, "we have to go" she says not wanting to move from her spot in his arms, "I know" he replies before asking "is there anything else you wanna say before we do this?" And after a moments thought she says "I'll love you forever, my mate, my Alpha" he takes a breath in at her using his title, something that usually only other werewolves would say or even acknowledge, and hugs her tighter "I'll love you forever too, my mate..." he wants to say more but knows now really isn't the time so he waits, praying he'll get the chance to say it later, with a kiss to the top of her head and a deep breath he turns to the road again and lets the truck roll through the gates and into the refinery building.


	10. Exchanges and revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for graphic medical procedures.
> 
> Eliot is gonna get a little whump in this chapter, he's also gonna get some surprises, as are Parker and Hardison.
> 
> This is a mostly Eliot chapter, sort of, but I hope y'all like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm halfway through writing chapter 18 and I must repeat again, PLEASE TAKE THE WARNINGS SERIOUSLY, I don't want anyone to read something that they either find offensive or are triggered by, so please be aware.

As Eliot pulls the truck to a halt and turns off the engine Jayda reaches up to put her earbud in, fiddling with its placement until it's in comfortably, then looking up at Eliot as he places his own, giving her a small smile, "it's gonna be ok" he tells her, she lifts one corner of her mouth in a half-smile "I know, I trust you to keep that promise and save me" she says to sounds of Parker and Hardison fake-retching on the other end of the comms, to which Eliot growls "shut it you two" before smiling back at Jayda and leaning over to draw her in for a kiss, whispering "I love you" against her lips, resting his forehead against hers as she replies "I love you too, puppy" with another quirk of a smile, kissing the tip of his nose before opening her door, grabbing the part-ransom bag and sliding out of the truck and moving around to stand in front of the hood, as the kidnappers had instructed.

Once she was leaning against the centre of the hood Eliot hits the horn once, the sign the kidnappers have been waiting for, their headlights suddenly blazing at the other end of the long, open ended refinery room, the shape of an adult, probably a man, and a small child thrown into sharp relief where they stand matching Jayda's position, Eliot slides out of his side of the truck, closing the door silently and leaning against it, watching the room and the hidden men he had spotted around them.

"Walk forward" is shouted at them from the other end of the room, Jayda takes a deep breath and steps forward, as she does the man with the child also starts walking towards the centre point between them, yanking the child by the arm viciously, making both Eliot and Jayda growl in anger, once they have covered half the distance between the vehicles and the meeting point the man stops and lets go of the child with the growled command of "WALK!", by now Jayda can see that it is Sarah and she bites her lip as tears start to well in her eyes, that this child has been hurt and abused all because of her link to Jayda and Eliot.

When Sarah realises who it is walking towards her she starts running, ignoring the order she's just been given, knowing that love and safety are so close, she throws herself at Jayda and she's powerless to resist her natural instincts, she drops to her knees, drops the bag and catches Sarah in her arms, burying her face in her hair and rocking her back and forth, saying "shhh, it's OK baby, you're safe, I need you to do somethin' for me ok?" When she gets a nod against her neck she continues "you've been so brave, all I need you to do is when we stand up, I've gotta take this bag to those men, while I do I need you to keep walking to my truck ok? There's a man there that you don't know, but he's one of our tribe, and he's now one of our family ok?" At the nod she gets she whispers "his name is Eliot, I'm his mate, ok? You know you'll be safe with him, I trust him, now I need you to let go so I can take this bag and we can get you home to your mommy, alright babygirl?" Sarah nods one more time before squeezing tightly round Jayda's neck and then leaning back so that she can stand up, Jayda puts her hand on Sarah's head once she's stood, turns to face her truck and calls out, "Eliot, come to meet her, and just so you know,.... yeah, she is..." before turning around scooping the bag up from the floor and walking quickly towards her new captors.

At Jayda's words Eliot moves quickly forward, wanting to stop what's about to happen, but he knows Sarah is more important right now, he has to get her to safety, when he's most of the way to Sarah he sees Jayda reach the kidnapper, almost immediately he feels something hit his side but he doesn't stop moving, after all it's not like it's the first time he's been shot, when he reaches Sarah he picks her up in his arms and she instantly wraps her legs around his waist to secure herself, spinning on one foot he runs back to the truck, climbing in with Sarah still wrapped around him like a monkey, once he's reaching for the keys he looks up through the windscreen, just in time to see the kidnapper draw a needle back out of Jayda's neck as she slumps between the two goons who had appeared next to her while he'd been busy, for just a moment he considers leaving Sarah in the truck and going after Jayda, but he knows that not only would Jayda kill him slowly and painfully if he risked Sarah - god, Jayda's daughter! - that way, but the kidnappers would have him in just a few steps, one bullet was one thing, but he was pretty sure it'd be open season on Eliot Spencer if he steps out of the truck again.

So Eliot starts the truck, and feeling like he's being torn in two, reverses out of the refinery and heads to where he knows Parker and Hardison are, mainly because he's not sure he'd make it to Diwali's before passing out as he was just starting to have difficulty breathing.

While driving Eliot says "Parker, I've got Sarah, the kidnappers have Jayda and they drugged her, so don't panic that she ain't talkin', I'm on my way to you guys, I've got another one of those holes in me ok? So I'm gonna need you to drive Sarah home, Hardison are the GPS workIn'?" He asks.

"What do you mean you got a hole in.... you've been shot, AGAIN!?!" Hardison half shouts into his ear "no, never mind, I don't want to know!, yes the GPS are working, I made them, you should know better than to ask, but they have removed her earbud, it's not transmitting ambient noise but the GPS built in is still working so it hasn't been destroyed, it's most likely in someone's pocket, I'll tell you anything else you wanna know when you get here, because I can hear you wheezin' so I'm not gonna work you up even more, we'll see you soon" before going silent, muted his comm Eliot suspected, he realises that Sarah is still on his lap so he pats her on the back and looks down at her for a moment to make sure she was paying attention, "hey, darlin', you're safe now, I ain't gonna let anythin' hurt you again ok? you wanna move onto the other seat now? It's safe I promise" he asks her, but she shakes her head against his chest, grabbing up fistfuls of his shirt as if afraid he'll force her to move, the gesture reminding him of Jayda wrapping her fingers into his shirt on the plane before going to sleep.

"why don't you wanna move, sweetheart? Won't you be more comfortable in the seat?" He tries again, again she shakes her head against his chest, this time whispering "wanna stay here, you smell safehomepack" using the werewolf way of explaining scents and emotions, giving him a start, he takes out his earbud before asking "you're a wolf?" And this time he receives a nod and "'m not allowed to talk about that, it's a bad secret" these words making him livid "who told you that Sarah?" He asks with a little growl in his voice "my daddy, he said it was bad and I shouldn't do it, but I can't help it!" She answers sniffling a little and gripping his shirt tighter, as if she expects to be pushed away for admitting it.

"It ain't wrong to be a wolf, sweetie, you're just different from your... daddy" he says, almost choking on the word with what he was beginning to suspect "he shouldn't say those things to you or make you feel that way, but I promise you you're not bad or wrong for being the way you are" Eliot tells her, disgusted to hear that this sweet little girl is suffering the same way he did, and he couldn't avoid the fact any longer that for her to be a wolf her natural father must have been too, so either Jayda had lied about only ever being with him, which he didn't believe was the case, or she hadn't and he was holding his daughter in his arms, he thinks about what Jayda's last words to him were 'yes, she is...' and then quickly does the maths before asking Sarah one last question "when's your birthday, sweetie?" To which she looks up at him confusedly "August twenty-fifth" she tells him, and he remembers, being with Jayda in late December, in Moscow, he holds in a groan and closes his eyes just for a moment before resting his nose on her hair and takes as deep a breath in as he can at the moment, and Sarah's scent tells him everything he needs to know, because under the dirt and fear all he can smell is Jayda and himself, she was theirs, and he'd never known.

Eliot knew that he couldn't think about it now, couldn't think that Jayda had lied when she told them Sarah's past in the briefing, that she'd given her up to be raised by someone else and had never come to find him and tell him, that she hadn't told him straight away when she arrived at the brewpub in Portland, and that she'd left his daughter with someone who hated the were's and was verbally and emotionally abusing her, just like he'd been abused at his father's hands, over something she couldn't help or change.

"Dammit, Jayda" he mutters, thinking about the long talk they were going to have once they had her back.

As the other's van comes into sight Eliot's vision greys out a little making him swerve slightly, luckily they were on a quiet, probably disused, country road so no one was there to see except Parker who was standing leaning against the back doors of the van.

Once he pulls to a stop she comes running up to the driver's side door and yanks it open, seeing the blood that has run down from Eliot's rib cage to his belt and has then soaked the side and ass of his jeans red, she takes this in and then realises the little girl is sat wrapped around him, holding onto handfuls of his shirt like he's the only safety she's ever known, Eliot rolls his head towards her on the headrest and she gasps quietly before yelling at the top of her lungs "Hardison!!!" Who comes shooting out of the van like his ass is on fire.

"What's up girl?" He asks skidding to a stop next to her just as Eliot's eyes roll back into his head "aawww shit!" He shouts before realising there's a seven year old sat there and saying "sorry, I didn't mean to, don't tell your mommy I said that ok?" While bending down trying to look into Sarah's face "ok" she answers in a whisper.

"Hey, sweetie, I'm gonna need you to get off Eliot's lap for a few moments ok?" Parker says gently, expecting another quiet answer.

"NO!!" Sarah yells, burrowing back into Eliot's unresponsive chest.

"Sarah, me and Alec, we're Eliot's best friends, and when he came to help you he got hurt and we want to help him, but we can't with you sat on his lap, we need to put him in the van and take him to the hospital, will you jump down just until we get him out?" Parker tries again.

"No! Auntie Jayda said to trust Eliot! She didn't say to trust anyone else! I want to stay with Eliot, he promised to keep me safe! And no one goes to the hospital around here, they all go to my granddaddy instead, he's better!" She answers gripping on to Eliot tighter.

"Well Eliot can't look after you right now, because he's hurt, that's why he brought you to us instead of taking you home, we were closer and he wanted you to get home safe no matter what, I'll make you a deal, we move Eliot into the van so he can lay down, you can cuddle up with him and we'll take you home and him to your granddaddy at the same time, would that be OK?" Parker gives it one last shot before just dragging the kid off Eliot no matter what she says.

"Ok,... but I get to stay with Eliot?" She asks uncertainly.

"Yep, right up until we get you to your mommy, so come on sweetie, climb down from the truck" Parker sighs in relief, why were kids always so hard to deal with? She wonders as she takes hold of Sarah and lifts her down from Eliot's lap.

The minute her feet are on the floor Sarah is turning around to grab Eliot's hand, acting as though she doesn't even see the blood that has coated his side, Parker tries to move her but she won't leave his side, in exasperation she tells her "Sarah, Eliot is badly hurt and we need to move him quickly, we can't do it with you holding his hand, you've only gotta let go for the time it takes us to get him from here to laid in the van, two minutes tops but you gotta be brave and let go ok?" Understanding how seriously Eliot was hurt Sarah lets go of his hand with a quiet "ok" before going to stand beside the doors to the van.

As quickly as they can Parker and Hardison manoeuvre Eliot out of the truck and between them manage to carry/drag him to the van, once they get him in and have Sarah settled resting his head in her lap stroking his hair, Parker goes and locks up Jayda's truck and Hardison starts the van, once parker's in the back they make a fast departure in the direction of Diwali's house, while Parker examines the wound in Eliot's side and puts pressure on it with a towel, which is soon completely soaked red, she looks up at the back of Hardisons head and tells him "drive faster, we need to get there faster!" To which he replies "I am, mama, I am!"

After the longest eight minutes of their lives they screech into the driveway of Diwali's house, Hardison hits the horn once to get everyone in the house's attention and then runs to the back doors of the van where he is met by both Ruby and Diwali, he throws the doors open to see Parker with a small pile of soaked-through towels and Sarah crying, stroking Eliot's hair and leaning over to kiss his forehead every so often, murmuring "I'm sorry you got hurt because of me" and "you have to get better for auntie Jayda, she loves you"

At the sight of her daughter Ruby cries out and holds her arms out to Sarah, but Sarah doesn't move, she stays with Eliot's head on her lap.

"Sarah, don't you want to give me a hug?" Ruby asks, upset, as her father starts to assess Eliot, "yes mommy but I can't right now, Eliot got hurt to come get me and auntie Jayda said he's family, he's her mate, and he's a werewolf like me and he needs me here to help him get better, having pack with you when you're hurt or sick, it helps you heal faster" she says blowing Eliot's secret to Parker and Hardison, who were not as surprised as Eliot might have expected them to be.

"Oh, ok, baby, how about you give me a hug while granddad and the others get Eliot inside and then you can be with him once he's sorted?" Ruby says at a loss for how else to deal with this.

Once they had managed to struggle Eliot through to Jayda's childhood bedroom and lay him on the double bed Diwali turns to Sarah, "you have been very brave granddaughter, you have made the spirit ancestors proud, but you must let me look after Eliot alone for a while, I want you to go and bathe and put on clean pajamas, once you are done, hopefully Eliot will be able to have you visit and you'll be able to curl up with him then, am I understood?"

"Yes grandfather" she answers, turning to her mom and taking her hand while she's led off to the bathroom, once Diwali closes the door behind them he turns to Parker, "how long has he been unconscious?" He asks quickly, moving to Eliot's side and removing the latest towel "no more than fifteen minutes, but most likely closer to ten" she answers clear and concisely.

"Do you know when the gunshot occurred?" He asks, "less than ten minutes before that" Hardison replied.

"Alright, this bleeding should have slowed or even stopped by now, this was not a conventional bullet" he tells them.

"You said the bleeding should have stopped by now?" Hardison asks "I don't know where you got your M.D. But even I know that ain't right!" He declares.

"You need to stop thinking in human terms, I'm guessing you didn't know until now what Eliot was, not for sure, because he told me you both had no idea, but werewolf physiology is a little different from humans, they heal faster, are less likely to scar, have heightened senses, especially smell, have an enhanced immune system, you've probably noticed Eliot never gets sick? They have a faster metabolism so they need to eat more and run at a higher natural temperature because of that, they tend to have anger issues, especially when they don't change to run often enough..." Diwali reels off while taking a sterile pair of long surgical tweezers out of his bag.

"Wait, wait, wait, change? As in into a wolf? For real? This isn't just some cult or delusion, some lunar madness that passes after three days?" Hardison asks disbelievingly.

As he manipulates Eliot's chest and upper belly he answers "No Mr Hardison it is not a cult or lunar madness, our tribe is made up of 70% werewolves, of which Eliot is one, our tribe has always been this way, it's why we separated and were driven out of the lands claimed by the rest of the Cherokee, we were despised for our difference and hunted for it, so we left and found a new place to settle, this has been our home ever since, in case you are wondering, Jayda, Ruby, Jared and myself are not wolves, neither is Jane, but as you heard Sarah say, she is, but I'm pretty sure you know why that is" he says as he looks up, receiving nods from both of them.

"Does he know?" Diwali asks more gently, to which Hardison shakes his head and Parker nods "hey what?" Hardison asks her, "when I got to him in the truck he was still awake, just, when he looked at me I could see it in his eyes, he knows" she tells him remembering the haunted look on Eliot's face before he passed out.

"Alright, I think I know where the bullet is, I'm going to try to remove it because if it's what I think it is then it's poisoning him and we have no time to lose, he won't be able to heal until it's gone" Diwali explains pulling on a pair of gloves.

"If it's what you think it is?" Hardison asks "what like a silver bullet?" He scoffs.

"That's exactly what I think it is" the shaman answers starting to lose his patience with these outsiders a little. "Now Mr Hardison I'm going to need you to hold Eliot's shoulders still while I remove the bullet, you can't let him move, thrash or sit up, especially as I believe his trouble breathing is because the bullet has nicked his lung, silver poisoning doesn't hit this quick, so it only leaves a lung injury as the other possibility"

"Wait, you expect ME to hold Eliot down? It'd take the Hulk to manage that! There's no way I'm strong enough to do that!" Hardison says in a high pitched squeak.

"Yes, and I need you to do it now!" The shaman tells him, gesturing to Eliot's shoulders where Hardison takes up position, looking a little panicked.

Diwali takes a deep breath and breathes out slowly before bending down and inserting the tweezers into the bullet hole in Eliot's left side, between his bottom two ribs, slowly and gently probing each inch of the wound searching for the bullet that was doing its best to kill him.

After about a minute of the slow probing Diwali takes a breath in through his nose, and after another few seconds says "I've got it! Alright miss Parker can you hold out that towel for me?" He requests indicating the bloodied towel she'd been using to staunch the blood flow earlier, she picks it up and folds it into a neat square she can hold in one hand then holds it above Eliot's belly ready to receive the bullet, Diwali has been slowly withdrawing the tweezers and now the curved ends are coming into view, along with quite a lot of dark blood, which Hardinson really hopes isn't as bad as he thinks it is, before suddenly there's the bullet, coated in blood but recognisable as a whole bullet, 'well at least it didn't shatter' Hardinson thinks to himself while Parker rubs the bullet clean, well cleaner, with the towel before saying "hey you were right! It IS made of silver!" To which Diwali just raised his eyebrows.

"Erm... Mr Red Cloud, sir?" Hardison asks, much more respectfully "are you gonna stitch him up now?"

"Well technically he usualły wouldn't need it, however his healing is going to be slower for about a week, so there is the chance he'd benefit from it, the bullet had in fact just nicked the bottom of the lung, so sewing him up would help with his breathing, as well as healing the inner tissues without infection, would either of you like to do the honours?" He asks them, getting both heads shaking at him emphatically, "well give me five minutes and I'll be done" he tells them "if Sarah is finished in the bathroom why don't you both go get washed up?" He suggests and they both look down at themselves and each other covered in Eliot's blood and give him sheepish smiles and nods before leaving the room.

Outside in the hallway Parker leans up against Hardison wrapping her arms around his waist and just squeezing for about half a minute then huffing out a sigh through her nose as she loosens her hold.

"You ok mama?" Hardison asks tipping his head forward and kissing the top of her head.

"I'll be ok" she answers him quietly, "we have so much to talk about" she continues knocking her forehead against his chest a couple of times, "but that's for tomorrow" she concludes stepping back from his embrace just as the bathroom door opens and Sarah comes out.

"Can I be with Eliot now?" She asks quietly as though afraid of waking someone.

"Just a second" Parker answers before leaning through the door and speaking to the shaman, when she pulls her head back she's smiling.

"You sure can! Now I don't know how much longer we'll be here tonight before going back to your house, so do me a big favour ok? You've gotta look after and protect Eliot the way we would if we were here, while we can't do it because we're working on getting your aunt Jayda back for you, we got a deal, yeah? Ok!" She says before ushering her into the bedroom Eliot's in and heading to the bathroom to clean up as best she can, taking Hardison with her.

When they emerge from the bathroom fifteen minutes later, they go to check on Eliot, they find him laid under the sheets of the bed, his clothes gone, and his chest bandaged, covering his wound, laid next to him wrapped in a fleece blanket, with her head on the right side of his chest was Sarah, her hand slowly stroking the hair on his chest above the bandages while she whispered to him.

"Hey sweetie, you and Eliot all settled?" Parker asks of the little girl, Sarah looks up at her with sleepy eyes and answers "yes, but Eliot's worried about aunt Jay, he thinks they're gonna hurt her".

"How do you know that Sarah? Did Eliot wake up?" Hardison asks excitedly.

"No, his wolf told me, silly, he won't wake up for a while yet" Sarah answers, sounding more than twice her age.

"How did his wolf telł you?" Parker asks gently.

"By smell, I can smell he's worried about his mate and child - is auntie Jay gonna have a baby? - and that he hates that he left her behind when he grabbed me, he feels guilty, like it's his fault" she answers, looking surprised at the idea of Jayda being pregnant, not knowing that the child in question was her.

"Well sweetie, can you tell him in whatever ways you can that we're gonna get her back, we'll be back in the morning and hopefully he'll stop being lazy and wake up, and then we'll see what we can do, ok?" Parker tells her, reaching out and stroking her hair gently before adding "Goodnight, Sarah, sleep well and guard Eliot for us, we'll see you tomorrow."

Hardison echoes her wishes for a good night and they head out of the room, turning the light off as they went.

Once in the hallway Parker says "we gotta long night coming don't we?" To which Hardison just nods before saying "sooner we get started..." and heading for the door and their van.


	11. Chasing our tails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out what Parker and Hardison do with their night, find out more about Sarah's life at home, Jayda suffers at the hands of her captors, Diwali puts a line in the sand and Eliot makes a decision about himself and his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I go in for what amounts to major surgery in six hours, so I'm posting this now, if the worst happens my partner will post the other chapters I have written, I hope to finish chapter 18 tonight, assuming all goes well I may be out of it for a few days so I won't be writing, so it'll likely be a week before I post again.
> 
> If you wanna do something nice for me then get Christian Kane to wish me luck on instagram I'm @lady_sian 

Parker stares at the screen again, but no, the information hasn't changed, every single GPS they had placed on Jayda was still working, they were all moving, the problem is they're alł moving in different locations, to different directions, no two together, and since Hardison had managed to hide over a dozen locators on Jayda, on her clothes, in her hair and one in the bag the money was in, it meant they had over a dozen possible locations for Jayda, or she could be without a single tracker and they'd have no chance of finding her, which from this information seems the most likely, what was the chance that they would find all the trackers but one? It's not like they gave her a subdermal one, they didn't have the equipment or time to do that here, so it was almost sure all the trackers had been found, so what were they going to do now?

Hardison was typing furiously at his keyboard, taking swigs of his orange soda every time he had to wait for the computers he was dealing with to catch up, growling at them when they would slow down even further sometimes, after about half an hour and two bottles of soda, he looks up at her and says "ok, I think I got something"

Parker turns towards him and gives him her full attention, "right, I've found an image of the kidnappers van where I can make out the number plate, it has been hired not stolen, but was apparently hired by Damien Moreau himself, which we know isn't possible, I'm trying to find any footage I can of whoever it is who's claiming to be Moreau, hoping it'll give us a hint of who's behind this" he pauses to take a breath and a drink before continuing

"The van took routes that were not covered by any cctv at all after taking Jayda, we have no clue which direction they even took her in, let alone where they are now, in the morning we've got to ask Sarah questions about where she was held, what it looked like, could she see outside, if so what did she see, what could she hear or smell, especially with her having heightened senses, that might turn us up something, the problem being, what if they haven't taken Jayda to the same place? And what do they intend to do with her? I can't help but believe this was the plan all along, to get Jayda and use her against Eliot or as a way of getting to Eliot, we both know he'd hand himself over willingly to get her released safely, but I don't think that's their end goal, I think they want to hurt or even break him by hurting, breaking or even killing her, making him live to suffer in the knowledge that he didn't save her from whatever they do to her" here he pauses again to see if Parker has anything to add.

"Yeah, I think you're right about what they're after, I mean this woman, he hurt her and then rubbed it in that he was in love with someone else, even if he never meant it that way, what better way to hurt him back than to hurt the imagined cause of her pain? The one he scorned her for? Which if we're right means we've gotta get her out of there as soon as possible" Parker agrees with him.

"We need to eliminate each of the potential locator leads, because he'd never forgive us if we went after just what Sarah can tell us and one of the locators was still on her and we spent too long looking when we would have got to her sooner by just tracing the locators, I've also been looking to see if 'Moreau' has bought or hired any properties in the area, I've used a six hour drive distance as an outer distance marker seeing as that was how long was between the call and the meeting today, I figured it was a good place to start, within that radius, I found fifteen houses and warehouse spaces bought or rented, all in isolated areas or surrounded by abandoned or derelict buildings, she could be at any of them or none, or they might keep moving her between them, I just don't know" he concludes, running out of steam. "So what do we do now?" He asks "it's not like we can do this without a hitter"

"Hhhhhmmmm, well who do you think Eliot'd trust to do this if he couldn't?" She asks him an idea forming in her mind.

"well I dunno" Hardison says thinking about how few people Eliot trusts, and who might owe him a favour "there's that army friend of his" he tries.

"who Shelly?" Parker asks screwing her nose up in thought.

"nah the tall one, Vance, he owes us all a favour" he corrects her "although Shelly would be a good plan too" he says considering.

"No, I've got it, someone Eliot knows he can trust, and who's worked for us before so he gets how this works, and isn't connected to the police or government" she says pleased with herself.

"Are you gonna tell me girl?" Hardison prods.

"Oh, yeah, sorry! I'm thinking Quinn?" She tells him, the end of Quinn's name rising to make it more of a question.

"Yeah that could work, we'll have to see what Eliot thinks when he wakes up tomorrow, if he stays asleep then we'll just have to make the decision for him" he decides.

"So anything else we can do right now?" Parker asks Hardison, receiving a shake of his head in reply she wraps her arms around his shoulders "c'mon then" she says "bedtime, if we can't do anymore we should at least get some sleep, we never know when we might get the chance again" she tells him sensibly.

"I'll just set my programmes running to keep up the searches and I'll be there, just two minutes" he's says smiling up at her.

After getting changed and brushing her teeth Parker climbs into the bed she and Alec had been given, the house seeming abnormally quiet without the family in it (Ruby, Jane and Sarah were staying at Diwali's house and no one had seen Jared since Jayda and Eliot had pulled up outside Diwali's house that morning) and it made Parker feel sad for them that all their lives had been turned upside down like this, just as she snuggles down cuddling one of her pillows (she'd left bunny at the brewpub) Alec comes in saying "hey girl, just gotta brush my teeth and I'm with you" she smiles at him and snuggles down more, two minutes later he's sliding back into the room around the door, changed into pajama pants and a plain tshirt, he quickly climbs into the bed snuggling down into the mattress before holding his arm out to Parker, giving her the choice on whether she wants to cuddle in or not, while usually she'd be more likely to not want to, tonight she needs hugs, thinking about this empty house, about Eliot injured, laid in a bed, without the woman he loves because she's being held hostage by the people who shot him, but having the child he never knew they had together watching over him, and then there was Jayda, she'd only known her for a day but she already really liked her, and she understood Parker! She didn't treat her like she was crazy or strange, she just accepted her!, and she was alone in the hands of her captors, not knowing what was going to happen or when she might be rescued.

Parker counted her blessings that night, to have Alec here, unharmed, happy to hold her, that they had the chance to share this and not be separated by someone else's hate for their love, and all the other things she thought she'd never have, and never thought she needed, until these four people, her family, came into her life, she laid there for a long time thinking about these things before finally drifting into a fitful, sporadic sleep.

JAYDA

Jayda slowly becomes aware of a disgusting, metallic taste in her mouth, her mouth that was so dry she felt like she'd been drinking sand, she tries rubbing her tongue against the roof of her mouth but it just makes the awful taste worse so she stops, she starts to turn her head but stops her movements when such a severe sense of vertigo overtakes her that she nearly vomits, feeling like she's on the most extreme of fairground rides, even though she knows she's laid flat on what feels like a bare concrete floor and oh god! She's naked! Where did her clothes go!? Who took them off her?, she slowly remembers the needle being stabbed into her neck unexpectedly, which explains the bad taste and vertigo, which were side effects of most well known sedatives, and the sudden darkness that blanketed her almost immediately after the injection, but at least she'd seen, seen Eliot pick up Sarah and make it into the truck with her, she knew her love and their child was safe, and that he knew who she was, that he'd keep her safe no matter what.

The next thing Jayda realises is the throbbing pain in her left wrist, when she tries to draw her out flung arm to her, to find out what the damage she's sustained is, she's surprised that she can only pull it about a foot closer than where it had been lying before an agonising pain shoots from her wrist along her arm and into her shoulder, at this Jayda's eyes shoot open and she slowly rolls onto her left side, to look at her arm.

What she sees is a metal spike either driven or set into the concrete floor, topped by a series of smallish metal rings, joined together to look like a child's drawing of a daisy, through one of these rings is the end of a three foot length of chain, heavy chain that seems to be made of iron, on the other end of the chain is a pre-20th century handcuff, made of a horseshoe shaped piece of metal with a bar that connects the ends which could be locked in place, this was a small size, maybe meant for an older child or very small woman, either way it was too small for Jayda, but it had been put on and forced to lock around her left wrist, from the look of the wrist and hand she knows they've broken bones to get it closed and it is restricting the blood flow to her hand, not enough to kill the flesh, but enough to cause some harm if left like this long enough.

Jayda takes stock of the rest of her body while laying there curled around her injured hand, her ankle was hurting again, but that was most likely because they'd taken the bandage Eliot had put on for her along with her clothes, her neck and shoulder itched around the last bite Eliot had left on her, but that was probably just a sign it was healing, her joints ached, especially the ones that had been dislocated or broken in the past, most likely from being laid naked on a cold stone floor, her thighs and hips ached, but in a different way, most likely from being with Eliot so many times in the last day, not to mention how sensitive and tender her genitals were, for the same reason, and her lower belly ached like she was due for her period, but that wasn't due for another fortnight, all in all not great, but not too bad either, she was hungry and very thirsty, but they were unimportant at this point, although keeping her strength up was important so she would need to eat and drink regularly if given the chance.

There is a light on above Jayda but it only really lights the area she's chained to, and she can sense that the room is quite large, there appears to be no windows in the room so with the concrete floor she surmises that she's in a basement somewhere, one with a damp problem, from the smell.

As she moves to sit up she realises her hair has been undone and is actually helping to conceal her nakedness from anyone watching, but that means the long hair pins she had in there were gone, they had literally left her with nothing.

Jayda sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, her injured hand cradled against her chest as best she could and her other arm wrapped around her knees, she had crossed her ankles to help hide her more intimate areas and her hair was draped around her giving her a modicum of warmth and comfort, after a time of sitting like this, trying to stay alert, her mind begins to wander, and the first thing she focuses on is Eliot, seeing him holding their daughter in his arms, protecting her, as she concentrates even more on the image in her head, Jayda realises that there were things she'd seen at the time and not registered, the twitch in Eliot's gait as he reached for Sarah, the quick grimace of pain as he bent to pick her up, the slow trail of red down the side of his emerald shirt as he ran back to the truck, and the fact that she had heard it, the sound of a suppressed gun being fired, because the whole refinery had been so silent apart from her voice telling Eliot to grab Sarah and run, and then the quiet sound of the gun, oh god Eliot had been shot in the side of the chest!

Jayda's panic is interrupted by a quiet hissing sound, she looks around the room but can see nothing, and then she can feel herself sliding sideways towards the floor.

The next time she wakes her body tells her it's not been long, her tailbone still aches and her ass is still cold from sitting on concrete, but she's not sitting anymore, now she's been arranged on her knees, still on the cold concrete, in some weird version of a stocks, where the actual trap part of the apparatus can rotate so the victim is forced to either sit with their spine straight and their head up or it tips forwards and they are in a more traditional hands and knees position, only in this case the hands are trapped in the stocks instead of being on the floor, at the moment Jayda was being held in the latter position, feeling entirely exposed because of her enforced nudity.

"What do you want?" She asks in a bored voice, after all it's not like she doesn't know what's coming.

"Lots of things" comes the reply from behind her, of course he stood there, where she can't see him, what a coward!

"Well do you want to get on with it then? It's just I've got dinner plans..." she sasses at him, knowing there's no point asking for mercy or trying to talk, what was going to happen couldn't be changed now, she just hoped Eliot could forgive her.

"So eager to begin? I guess i'd be eager for torture if i'd done the things you have, and i'd be desperate for a good fuck if I was stuck with Eliot Spencer for the rest of my life too, so which do you want first? Your pain or our pleasure?" He answers, her skin goes cold at the use of the word 'our', how many men did he have lined up to rape her? All of the ones they found payments to, more?.

"By the way, that pretty bracelet you got on? That's your collar, from now on people are only ever going to call you one thing, since you like being fucked by that mongrel so much, your name is Bitch!" He tells her, followed by the sounds of quite a few men snickering and quietly laughing, a sound that makes her blood turn to ice, he hadn't just been trying to scare he, there were at least ten men in this room all stood behind her, seeing the parts of her that had always been kept secret, private and for Eliot only, she shuffled on her knees, trying to pull them forward so she can try to sit on her heels to hide herself, at least partially, but finds that there is a padded upright in the way meaning she can't pulł her knees forward, she has no option but stay in this exposing position.

She hears the sound of the air being cut right before a stripe of red hot agony breaks across her shoulders, she gasps in but does not scream, she won't give them that, from the width of the blow and the weight with which it connects she guesses it was a heavy leather belt she was just hit with, at the thought she flashes back to being fifteen, coming to check on Eliot when he didn't make it to school after running the night before, and arriving while his father was still beating him, roaring drunkenly about him being a beast and an abomination, how he went against god's law and needed to be cleansed of his sinful nature, she hid outside his bedroom window and watched him as he beat Eliot into unconsciousness before he left, wishing for every second of it that she could go in there and save him, the moment his father was out of the door she was in through the window, holding Eliot's head to her and crying for over half an hour before he came around, she'd been so scared he wouldn't wake up, it took a week for his back and ribs to heal enough to come back to school, the longest he ever took to heal, he told her it was because his dad had used his 'good' belt, the one with silver inlay all along its length to 'punish' him, she had never told him what she'd seen, she couldn't let him know, the fact that she knew it happened at all was bad enough for him, he was so ashamed, but he never fought back, his father was over half a foot taller and barrel-chested, but he'd stand no chance against a werewolf who was angry or in pain.

Jayda is physically dragged out of her memories by the second blow from the belt, hitting her across the bottom of the ribcage and recracking her bottom right rib that had never healed right after its last break, she still didn't scream, she was stupidly proud of that, but she did feel a drip of liquid slide down the side of her ribs and drip onto the floor, but she couldn't see to tell what it was, the moment the drip left her skin the next blow came, across the small of her back, making her full-body twitch and squeak a little.

"oh look, the Bitch talks!" The crowing voice says, then she feels him lean over her, along her back, and she's trying her best to move away from his touch, she doesn't want him anywhere near any part of her, but especially not there, not near Eliot's home, when he's laid flat against her back, she is relieved to find that although he's shirtless he is wearing jeans, and Jayda thanks all her ancestors that this is the case, he'd felt her shuddering and cringing though and he laughs "you think i'd sully myself by fucking that filthy snatch the mongrel fucks? Don't be stupid that's what they're for..." he whispers before adding at a normal volume "now if you 'speak' again you'll have to be gagged, we can't let you howl all night long now can we, Bitch?" Which is met with laughs and encouragements.

He pulls away from her back and she feels the air move just before the belt lands again, across the backs of her thighs right where they meet her buttocks and due to the position she's held in coming full force against her pussy, this time she screams, long and loud, until a gag is forced into her mouth and secured around her head, after that the blows come faster, harder and with less coordination and precision than before, and she screams and screams until she can't anymore, and then, blessedly, she passes out.

ELIOT

Eliot was drifting, feeling warm and safe, feeling pack nearby, he could smell Jayda-mate around him, fully enveloped in her scent, and the scent of their daughter next to him, the feeling of her curled on his chest giving him a feeling of warmth in his heart he thought he'd never feel, but as he drifts closer to full consciousness his memories start to surface, Jayda with a needle in her neck, picking up Sarah after being hit by a bullet in the chest, making the choice to leave Jayda behind and get Sarah to safety, realising that Sarah was indeed his daughter!

With that thought his eyes shoot open and he tries to sit up, but he's held down by both the pain in the left side of his chest and the weight of his daughter asleep on the right side of his chest, he looks to the window, seeing there is just the beginning of light starting to peek around the edges of the curtains, curtains he knew so well from his childhood, so he was surrounded by Jayda's scent because he was in her old bedroom, he figured, allowing himself a small smile before looking down at Sarah, their child, laid against his shoulder with her fingers tangled in his chest hair, being family, being Pack, and he thinks sadly, she can never know that he was her father, could never know that her real father loved her and thought her wolf was beautiful, not something to be repressed and be ashamed of, instead she'll grow up thinking a man who hates her wolf was her father, being told all the things that he had to suffer through growing up, and he hated it.

Deciding to make the most of the time he had with his daughter, Eliot brought his right arm around her tiny shoulders, bringing his left hand over to stroke her hair, before leaning over and kissing the crown of her head, then continuing to stroke her hair gently while she slept, "I love you, babygirl" he whispers, having her next to him giving him strength and determination to recover and get Jayda back.

After a short time Eliot felt himself beginning to drift again, his lack of food recently, with his higher metabolism than even normal because of being in rut, the blood loss from the bullet wound, plus the added stress that his healing was putting on his body, making him lightheaded and faint, he decided to let himself drift into a light doze, just for a while, until everyone else woke up.

When Eliot next awoke, it was to the sound of a tearful, whispered argument going on over him.

"Come on Sarah, it's time to leave Eliot alone to get better, your grandfather will look after him and you can see him soon, once he's better!" Ruby hisses at Sarah, who burrows deeper into his embrace in defiance.

"No! I have to stay here with Eliot! We're Pack!, we're family! he needs me to stay here and help him get better!" Sarah shouts back, wrapping her arms around him as best she could.

"No! I won't hear anymore of this superstitious nonsense, your father is very angry I even let you stay the night here with Eliot, especially after he's filled your head with this rubbish about being Pack or family, so come here now or you're going to get such a spanking from him!" Ruby snaps, reaching over Eliot to grab Sarah by the bicep and start forcibly dragging her off Eliot and the bed, at this Eliot's hand shoots up and grabs Ruby's wrist, twisting viciously to make her release Sarah.

"What the hell do you think you're doin'?" He growls out, gathering Sarah to him with his right arm and holding her safely against his side.

"I'm taking my daughter home to her father and sister" Ruby replies, looking fearfully at him because of the pain in her wrist. "Let her go, Eliot, you got no right to keep her here like this"

"I've got every right to keep her here if I think she's been abused by that son of a bi... gun, being told she's wrong or bad for bein' what she is, that it's a 'bad secret' she's not allowed to talk about, even to other wolves! And after seein' the way you just grabbed her I'm wonderin' about how she got that broken arm too! She's right we are family, I'm with Jayda, her... aunt, that makes us family, and because we're both wolves that makes us Pack too, and as the Alpha of this pack it's my job to protect her, so I will, from ANY threat, now get out, me and the pup have things to talk about!" He shouts holding Sarah protectively against his side and growling at Ruby, throwing her wrist away from himself and Sarah and pointing to the door.

"You can't...." Ruby starts.

"Watch me" Eliot growls at her, then turning to Sarah asks gently "what do you wanna do babygirl?" Giving her the choice to make her own decision.

"I... I wanna.... I wanna stay with you Eliot! But I don't want daddy to get mad, he's not nice when he's mad" Sarah says, bottom lip starting to tremble.

"You don't gotta worry babygirl, I'll protect you from him" Eliot tries to reassure her, whilst getting angrier and angrier at Jared.

"But what about Jane? She'll be there all alone with no one to protect her!" Sarah cries out before snuggling into his side to weep quietly.

Eliot glares at Ruby, hatred for what she has allowed to happen causing his teeth to lengthen, making him want to rip her apart.

"You let him hurt them?" He snarls at her, "how could you?"

"It's not like that! Sarah! Tell Eliot your daddy doesn't hurt you or Jane!" Ruby exclaims reaching as if to grab Sarah, but coming nowhere close to making contact as Eliot _barks_ at her in warning, as she pulls back she commands "Sarah tell Eliot the truth!"

"Daddy doesn't hurt Jane, but he might if he's mad and I'm not there, after he's been mad he usually tells mommy I had an accident and that's why I have bruises, she just thinks I'm clumsy and stupid, that's why when daddy says he won't let me do the tests to move up a grade at school she doesn't argue with him, he says someone dirty like me can only be stupid, not clever like I've lied to people saying I am." Sarah rushes out before putting her head back under Eliot's chin and squeezing around his neck.

"She's stayin' right here and you're goin' to go get Jane and bring her here too" Eliot says frowning up at Ruby, who bites her lip staring down at him.

"I can't, he wants her home right now, when I got home with Jane and told him where Sarah was he was furious!, if I don't take her he'll come and get her, and you might be tough, but you were shot with a silver bullet, it's gonna be a week before you heal, you can't fight him on this at the moment!" Ruby tells him.

"Just watch me" Eliot says, slowly pushing himself up until he's sitting.

"What is all this shouting about?" Diwali says rushing into the room, "I could hear you all from the herb garden! And what are you doing trying to sit up?"

"I'm not tryin', I _am_ sittin' up" Eliot answers, deciding to let Ruby tell her father that her husband was abusing Sarah, at her silence he looks to her and raises his eyebrow.

"I'm having trouble getting Sarah to come home with me, and now she's started telling lies to Eliot to try to get him to back her up on her staying!" She says, raising her voice when Eliot starts to glare harder at her and growl.

"Ruby, why are you lying to me? I came in at the first shout, when Sarah told you no, I've heard everything, you have just found out your husband is abusing at least one of your children, how can you want to take her back to him?" Diwali asks.

"She's lying! They've come up with this plan together! Jayda and him, and have bribed or threatened Sarah into going along with it! Because they want to steal her from us now they're together!, because Jayda can't have anymore kids!" Ruby yells starting to go red in the face, shaking, and sneaking a look at her watch, which Eliot notices and wonders about.

"No daughter, for whatever reason, you are the one lying, and I don't believe Jayda or Eliot wish to steal anyone's child, no matter the child's parentage" Diwali states "Sarah is staying here with Eliot, she will make him heal much faster, even with the silver from the bullet still in his system, and I know I can rely on him to keep my granddaughter safe, no matter what or who from" he tells Ruby, "go get Jane"

"I can't" she tells them both, "he's not gonna let me leave again if I come back without Sarah"

"Then you better get your ass home and make sure he don't lay a finger on that other precious little girl you've got" Eliot growls out threateningly "and if you fail to protect her you're _both_ going to wish you were never given these babies to look after, do I make myself clear?"

"You don't have any right!... " Ruby begins before being cut off by her father.

"He may not, but I do! I will not allow this within MY tribe, MY FAMILY!, there will be no abusing of children, especially not for hatred of the child, who was a gift, being a wolf, our whole tribe came to be because of the wolves and those who loved them, I will not have hatred of the wolves festering within the tribe, Jared must stop this, or he will be banished" Diwali tells her "now get out of here"

Ruby looks from one man to the other, clearly wanting to argue but also wanting to follow her father's command, before suddenly bolting from the house.

Once she's gone Eliot looks up at the old Shaman "Thank you Diwali, I'm not sure I could have actually stood up if she'd continued to fight with me about this, I just couldn't let her take Sarah once she'd told me he hurts her" Eliot explains "I..., we..., there was no plan to take Sarah away, I didn't even know until after I was shot and I could smell her scent, I don't want to cause trouble, I just couldn't let her be hurt like that, I know how bad it gets..." he says trailing off at the end.

"I know this Eliot, and I know this is the same abuse you suffered, I was not able to intervene when it was you, after your mother's death I had no say over your father, he had never embraced our ways, so I had no standing, but now, here, I do have power, and that... man, will not hurt these girls ever again, even if it means I have to raise them myself." Diwali tells him, surprising him as he thought no one but Jayda knew about what had happened to him.

"Now your friends were arriving as I came in, but there is something you need to know, Sarah unknowingly told them your secret when they arrived here with you, Ruby had tried to get her to come away from you, but she wouldn't leave your side, when asked why, she declared to everyone that she would help you heal better, because you were a werewolf like her and you were family and Pack and you had told her it was not a 'bad secret' or anything to be ashamed of, there was no way to cover what she had said as anything else, especially since I needed your friends help to get the bullet out, I'm sorry." Diwali tells him.

"Well serves me right for being a hypocrite" Eliot says shrugging.

"You seem to be taking this rather well" the shaman says, indicating that Eliot should lay back down "I would have thought such a long-held secret would be more fiercely protected"

"Well let's just say I've recently discovered how painful being on the unknowin' end of a secret is" Eliot answers with a sigh as he lays back down, rearranging Sarah where she had cried herself to sleep against his side so that she would be more comfortable "and I am a hypocrite, I've kept this secret from those two, who I love more than if they were my siblings, for far too long, I know I can trust them, but I just never dared tell them, after all what if they hated me for it? I mean if my own father could then anyone can, right? But then I tell Sarah that it's nothing to be ashamed of, I brought it on myself"

"That is a very enlightened way to look at it, Eliot, I'm very proud of you and the man you've become, even if you have rushed into things with Jayda without knowing everything you needed to, but then again, you were never told there were reasons to wait, so I can't hold that against you, I am glad that you are part of this family" Diwali says looking down on the resting man and his daughter, "and thank you for saving my granddaughter, from her abductors and from the man she calls daddy, you should know that if it is ever needed I have Sarah's real birth certificate, with her real parents names on, just in case it is needed."

"You don't gotta thank me for lookin' out for Sarah, that i'd do just because she's related to Jay" he says flicking his eyes down to Sarah to check if she's still asleep "as for your bein' proud of me, and bein' glad I'm part of your family, thank you, I'm honoured by both"

Diwali smiles down at him and nods accepting the the mutual respect between them "are you hungry?" He asks Eliot as he begins to check his wound "from your temperature i'd say your metabolism is running at about six times a normal humans, which I'm assuming is partly you healing and partly from your rut"

Eliot swallows the wrong way and starts choking a little, after a small drink to clear his throat he says "what makes you think..." before he's interrupted.

"I'm the one who undressed you and washed you last night, after the blood loss you suffered the only way your... body's state can be explained is rut, werewolf treating doctor and shaman remember?" He says as Eliot's face flames red before asking haltingly "is the blood loss why I'm not... well, you know... now?" He asks looking down at himself draped in a sheet from the corner of his eye.

"You mean you're still in rut?" Diwali asks eyebrows raising.

"Should be yeah, about eight hours into day two" Eliot replies feeling a little alarmed by the Shaman's reactions. "Why is something wrong?"

"Well nothing should be able to stop the symptoms of rut at this stage, even blood loss would have to be at lethal levels, the only things that do are if the female of a bonded couple falls pregnant, and even if Jayda had, you would not have smelt it in her scent after only one day, it takes over a week for the scent to show, and even then only those with the highest sense of smell would pick up on it, or for the female of the couple to have given birth, rut is much milder for the first six months after pups are born, so neither of these things are realły possible...." Diwali tells him as he replaces Eliot's bandage.

"Could having first scent of a child kick in the after birth effect maybe?" Eliot asks indicating Sarah gently, "or from the silver in my system?"

"Both of those are good questions, I'll have to check the shaman's diaries to see what they say" Diwali replies thoughtfully "I'll send your friends in"


	12. Secrets shared and reinforcements called

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda learns how twisted and inventive her captor is, Parker and Hardison talk to Eliot about his big secret, Eliot calls in help after a nudge from his teammates and Jayda takes a gamble with the truth in order to gain a small chance after being lead to believe that all has been lost.
> 
> PLEASE HEED ALL WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for non-con touching, non-con abuse of a sexual nature, non-con torture, mentions of emotional and verbal child abuse, talks of pregnancy, talks of miscarriage, talks of provoking a miscarriage.
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to Melissa who left me such a nice comment wishing me well for my surgery, as you can see I've survived and am now recovering with five new holes healing to interesting scars on my ribs and abdomen, it's an interesting feeling, let me tell you.
> 
> I've finally finished chapter eighteen and started on nineteen, but I'm having trouble focusing as an after effect of the general anaesthetic, so don't be surprised if my writing and by extension posting starts slowing down.
> 
> Also I've had an unexpected relationship start in the story, one that was most definitely not supposed to happen, so when it's posted y'all will have to tell me what you think about it.
> 
> I'm gonna stop now because this is getting too long and I can't actually read what I'm typing any more, enjoy!

JAYDA

When Jayda next awoke she was laying on her back spreadeagled on the floor, and she honestly couldn't tell whether it was a good or a bad thing, her whole back from knees to neck was agony, the only places spared being most of her arms, she felt as though she had been painted with hot tar using a small paintbrush, the pressure of being laid on the welts and cuts making them scream all the louder, however, the cold temperature of the concrete floor was a comfort to the stinging and burning, a small comfort, but a comfort none the less.

Hating being so exposed, (she assumed she'd been laid like this to demean her further) she tries to pull her arms down and draw her legs together, in the case of all four limbs they move about an inch and then stop, her left wrist rather painfulły, again, in seconds she knows she was strapped down, a cuff at each wrist and each ankle, a strap across her waist, and a collar around her neck, one that holds her head in a postural position so that it was almost impossible to look down at her own body, and of course she was still wearing the gag.

Jayda was just wondering what had awakened her when she heard it again, a quiet, slow rattling sound, a sound she knows but can't place, as she's thinking trying to place the sound she hears the voice come out of the darkness by her feet, that crowing voice from last time.

"Hello Bitch!" He greets her "so how are you feeling today? Nice and warm I take it? Good! So I was thinking about what we could do to improve your hygiene, after all I don't want my men to catch anything from a diseased Bitch like you, especially since you let that mangy mongrel fuck you! So how can we make you cleaner? I had a long think about it."

"I decided against scrubbing you out with Ajax, after all that might cause some nasty chemical burns to the crotch.... of my men once they fuck you, so that idea had to go, then I wondered about something like drain-o, but that eats through organic material like flesh, and it seems being tight is the only thing you have going for that filthy cunt of yours, and using drain-o would loosen it somewhat due to eating through your flesh, so I had to put that idea to the back burner too, so that left me with a seriously reduced choice of methods to try and get you clean, so I've decided that you're going to be scrubbed once a week, or maybe twice, with surgical antiseptic, inside and out, see how kind I am to you Bitch? See how I want to improve you so that you'll be fucked by real men instead of that stunted, filthy DOG you call Eliot? So for this first time I'm going to watch, to make sure it's done right and then after that we'll see if any of the men think you're clean enough for them yet! He tells her gleefully, watching her shiver and get paler and paler as he goes on, shaking her head at where his voice is coming from and demanding with her eyes to be set free.

"Nothing to say on the matter? No? Well I'm sure that'll change in just a few moments", she hears the rattling sound again and this time it clicks, it's ice in a glass! The sick bastard was telling her about the torture he was about to have enacted on her and HE WAS HAVING A FUCKING DRINK while he did! All she wants at that moment was to chase him through the forest around her home, bring him down, and rip his throat out with her teeth, bathing in his blood, for just a moment she wonders 'is this what it feels like to Eliot when he needs to change or is angry at somebody?'.

"One more thing before we get started, we don't want you to die, believe it or not, it is our aim for you to live a long time, so we're going to give you food and water, and once a week you will be showered down, as well as your weekly scrubbing, the food and water will not be drugged or harmful in any way and no one will touch you while you are being showered, these are my rules and shall be followed, always remember who gives you this kindness" he explains to her before clapping his hands together and saying "let's get started then! First your gag will be removed and you will be given some water, be careful, we don't want you to choke on it".

At this a man comes out of the shadows, built like a bull and with just as much neck, he comes to her and kneels beside her head, then opens a sealed bottle of water, he sets it down next to himself and reaches behind her head, as soon as the gag is gone Jayda is talking "please don't do this! Whatever you want can be arranged, there is no need to abuse me when I'm happy to give you whatever you want!" She stops talking when the bottle is held to her lips and her first drink in 24 hours is gently given to her, very gently in fact considering the man giving the commands and the man carrying them out, once the flow of water stops Jayda continues "so what is it you want? What are you trying to achieve?"

"Well, here's the thing, my partner, she wants you tortured, in all the worst, most visible ways possible, before you're killed in the most painful and obvious way possible and dropped on Eliot Spencer's doorstep, now me? I want you to suffer, I want you to beg, demean and debase yourself, endure all of the worst indignities, feel all the kinds of pain there are, know that you are no better than the rutting animal you are, know how perverted you are for being with an animal like that mongrel Spencer, a literal animal! Let alone breeding with one! And then I want you to make the mongrel or the shaman tell me how werewolves spread their infection, how it's passed from one person to another and how to cure it! And then I'm going to kill you both, so you can never interfere in my life again, so you see, we have what we both want right now, we're not agreed on exactly how this finishes but there's quite a while until we have to make that decision, so let's get on!" He explains to her, leaving her speechless and terrified.

At his words the man next to her stands up and walks out of the circle of light, Jayda hears something being put down and something heavier picked up, he comes back into the light carrying what looks like a carry box of cleaning supplies, this time he kneels by her right foot, he picks a collapsible bowl up from the box and opens it, he then picks up what appears to be a industrial size bottle of some sort of cleaning astringent, the threatened surgical antiseptic she assumes, and half fills the bowl with it, he then draws out a hard bristled scrubbing brush, the type used for floors or stonework.

At the sight of this Jayda starts to shake, she'd seen what being scrubbed with one of these could do after Eliot got home too late one morning when they'd been swimming in the lake, his father knew they went out running together and when he saw him come back that morning, already changed back into his human form, because his father hated his wolf so much he felt it was safer to change before approaching the house, coming out of the woods and then sprinting for the house naked, his father decided that they must be out having sex all night, probably his son perverting the young girl he had under his spell, or maybe letting one of the older more dominant wolves use him as a bitch, so he dragged Eliot into the back yard and scrubbed him with one of these brushes, some lye soap and the hose until Eliot was bleeding from the back, chest, thighs, butt cheeks, asshole/crack and his genitals, Eliot wouldn't turn human during their runs for weeks after that, in fact the only times he was human we're when he was at the school or was forced to be at home rather than at Jayda's, he said it was because it hurt more in that form, and she didn't doubt it was true, but she had a feeling it also had to do with the strange energy there had been building between them for the last few months and the accusations his father had spewed at him all the time he was scrubbing him, she still saw his chest and back plenty, when they were sat outside her bedroom window under the tree studying he'd take his shirt off when he was too hot and she'd see the lumpy scarring caused by the scrubbing tearing his flesh apart, the scars eventually healed completely, Eliot's werewolf healing making sure there was no permanent reminder of his father's abuse this time.

"Please don't!" She begs shaking and shuddering "I know what havin' one of these used on you will do, please, please don't do this to me!"

"I'm sorry" says the crowing voice, not sounding sorry at all "but we need to get your filthy twat clean, and the rest of you too - begin!"

"No!" Jayda yells out as the man grabs her ankle, starting to thrash as much as the straps and pain in her back allow, which isn't much, but he has a firm grip on her bruised right ankle and he pushes his thumb into the centre of the mark, making her gasp and her eyes start watering in pain, it also stops her thrashing long enough that he can start scrubbing, starting on the sole of her foot, putting all his strength into it, very quickly Jayda has been reduced to a screaming, crying, mess and he hasn't even reached her knee yet, this time they don't gag her, instead leaving her to scream until she feels something in her throat tear and she's not able to scream anymore.

Once he has scrubbed both legs up to her hips, with the exception of the thin strip of skin he can't reach with her strapped down like this, he starts on her stomach, starting with the bottom section, he starts just above her neatly trimmed pubic hair and then slowly works his way up her body in horizontal stripes, when he reaches her rebroken bottom rib he doesn't ease up on the pressure he's using, causing her to feel starbursts of pain all along her ribcage, and restarts the cut the belt had caused along the rib bleeding again, once he reaches her breasts, he starts from the outside most areas spiralling inwards to her nipples which were still cut, bruised and sore from Eliot's attentions on them, just the day before, and were agonising to have scrubbed like this, with the antiseptic making the pain all the sharper, making her start to sob, when he has finished both breasts he continues with the stripes up until her throat, then scrubbing as much of the back of her shoulders as he can get at, focusing on the areas where Eliot had bitten her on the back of her shoulder, using even more pressure and scrubbing until the bite marks are bleeding freely, before scrubbing her arms in the same manner as he had her legs, when he reaches her left wrist he doesn't ease up on the pressure he uses and in moments she is slipping into the blackness of unconsciousness.

ELIOT

Hardison comes through the door, Parker bouncing on her toes behind him, trying to see over his shoulder to see if Eliot was awake.

"Eliot! I'm so glad you're alright!" She half-yells coming to bounce onto the bed next to him.

"Parker! Be quiet and sit still, Sarah's sleepin'!" Eliot hisses out quietly, looking down to check she hadn't been woken.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't notice her there! She's so tiny, is she ok after everything Eliot?" Parker apologised quietly.

"Yeah, she's ok, so,... I hear she kinda told on me last night?" Eliot asks, wincing in preparation for the telling off he's expecting.

"Yeah, but you know it finally explained quite a lot of your.... habits" Hardison tells him.

"What habits?" Eliot asks looking affronted, sure he'd hidden any sign of his being a were better than that.

"Lets see," Parker starts "monthly two day trip to your little cabin, always alone, and you're impossible to contact while your there, usually sometime round the full moon"

"And that you eat a lot more red meat the couple of days leading up to it" Hardison continues "not to mention your truck always smells like wet dog when you get back" making Eliot's cheeks flame.

"Then there's the whole food being so much spicier for a week once every three months, like clockwork, do you know how many comments we get about that?" Hardison again.

"And you never, ever have any girls around when you're cooking like that" adds Parker

"And your temper gets worse" Hardison points out

"Then there's how quick you heal from wounds" Parker says poking at his chest, luckily not too near his current gunshot wound.

"Hell you walked off being shot twice!" Exclaims Hardison, getting him a sharp look from Eliot reminding him to be quiet.

"You never get sick" Parker says shrugging "ever"

"Ok enough!" Eliot cuts in "so I'm crap at hidin' it, I get the message!" He snaps.

"We didn't say that!" Parker insists "we've practically lived with you for the last six years and we didn't figure it out until Sarah said it! We'd noticed the signs but put them down to other things, it's not like 'being a werewolf' is the first thing anyone would think of, you know? But we're glad we finally know, we just wish you'd trusted us enough to tell us" Parker tells him giving him a soft sad smile.

"I do trust you, both of you, but I learned very early in life that I needed to hide it from everyone I could, because if people knew they'd either hate me or wanna hurt me, or both, and once you're used to hidin' somethin' big about yourself it makes it even harder to tell people." He explains, reaching out and holding Parkers hand.

"Am I forgiven?" Eliot asks them both looking from one face to the other.

"Course you are, sparky! But it never hurts for you to cook us cookies and cakes to say sorry like you really mean it!" Parker says, grinning and raising her eyebrows hopefully.

"I've told you bakin' ain't the same as cookin', I don't bake!" Eliot replies grumpily, looking up at Parker through his eyelashes and eyebrows before letting the corner of his mouth twitch up just the tiniest bit, letting her know that he'd bake her sugary treats when they got home.

"So, where's Jayda?" He asks getting down to business.

"We don't know" Hardison says, looking worriedly at Eliot, afraid of his reaction.

"WHAT?" He shouts, sitting up suddenly, displacing Sarah and waking her up, before grabbing his ribs and clenching his teeth over a growl of pain.

"Eliot?" Sarah asks looking between the adults in the room "what's wrong?"

"Nothin's wrong babygirl, I just sat up a bit too quickly" Eliot lies.

"You know I can smell when you lie right?" She says looking up at him, sounding and looking for all the world like Jayda when she calls him on some of his bullshit "I'm getting grandfather" she adds, quickly sliding off the bed and getting out of the door before any of them thought to stop her.

"Dammit" Eliot sighs looking at the other two in the room, "I'm in for it now"

"Eliot? What happened?" Diwali asks as he walks through the door.

"I just sat up too fast is all" he answers, looking apologetically at the older man and indicating where his wound is starting to bleed through the bandages.

"Can you give us a few moments please?" He asks Parker and Hardison "and could you take Sarah with you?"

As the three leave the room Eliot starts to lay back down with the Shaman's help, "so, why did you sit up so fast you tore your stitches?" He asks of Eliot.

"Hardison and Parker told me that somethin' has gone wrong and they don't know where Jayda is" he answers honestly, eliciting a gasp from Diwali.

"I see, well let us see to your wound and then you and the others can decide what we should do next" he tells the hitter, before unwrapping the bandages from around his ribs.

After a quick examination of the wound, stitches and surrounding area Diwali says to Eliot "the wound is healing well considering it was a silver bullet you were shot with..."

"What??" Eliot interrupts, "it really was silver? But how would they know to use silver bullets? Only members of the tribe know about us, and by extension, know what I am, there's no way Samantha could have known or found out, a member of the tribe must either be part of this or be givin' them information at the very least" he sets out for the Shaman.

"Yes, these are things I have been considering, may we finish discussing the care of your wound before considering the cause?" He answers.

"Of course, sorry" Eliot answers lowering his eyes in deference.

"That is alright, now as I said it is healing well considering the silver, and Sarah being here has obviously helped, there must be quite a strong instinctual bond between you both for her to help you heal so rapidly in such a short time, the damage to your lung has healed enough that your breathing is no longer laboured but the skin has yet to begin healing, so I would suggest stitching you again, also there are beginning signs of infection around the wound, I think I'll need to keep a close eye on it for the next few days" he's told.

"Well if you think it needs stitchin' again have at it, I'm all yours" he answers, getting a shake of the head in fond resignation from Diwali.

"I'll just go get my kit - don't move!" He admonishes.

Upon leaving the room Diwali finds Sarah and Parker sat on the couch watching cartoons, seemingly both as enthralled as each other, and sat at the small desk Hardison seems to be doing something with a laptop.

On his way back to Eliot Sarah spots him "grandpa! Can I go back to Eliot now? He's really worried about his mate"

"Now Sarah, I just need to do something to help Eliot, it will only take a few minutes, and then you can come in, but you must behave and be quiet for me when you're in with Eliot, he needs to heal" Diwali warns her, stooping down to her level to talk.

"I have been behaving! When I'm with Eliot I feel safehomepack, it makes me want to go to sleep, but it makes me want to be a wolf too" she says starting out happy and ending staring at the floor and cringing "I really like Eliot grandpa, he said he won't let daddy make me feel bad anymore, and that it's OK to be a wolf, do you like Eliot grandpa? I wish Eliot was my daddy, he's nice"

Diwali lets out a quiet sigh at her declaration, part of him wishing he could tell her the truth, but knowing he can't "well, Sarah, Eliot is your uncle now, since he's mated to your aunt, so even when he and your aunt Jayda aren't here they'll still always be there for you, if you need either of them then all you have to do is call them and they'll come running, I promise, they both love you very, very much, and yes I do like Eliot, I always have"

"Have you known Eliot a long time grandpa?" She asks him curiously.

"Yes Sarah, I've known Eliot his whole life, I was there when he was born" he answers her smiling.

"Really?" She asks wide-eyed.

"Really" her grandfather tells her, then standing says "now I need to go help him ok?"

"Ok!" She answers going back to sit with Parker and start to watch cartoons again, and Diwali returns to Eliot's room.

"Please tell me I heard that wrong" Eliot says quietly once the door is closed, agony swimming in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Eliot, I wish you hadn't heard that" the Shaman tells him sympathetically "but you understand you can't tell her don't you?"

"Yeah I know" Eliot answers, looking heartbroken.

"Are you ready?" Diwali asks, indicating Eliot's wound.

"Yeah, go ahead" Eliot says defeatedly.

Less than five minutes later the stitches are in place and Eliot's chest is bandaged again, and once he's been helped into a comfortable sitting position Diwali goes to leave turning back at the door saying again "you cannot telł her"

"I know Diwali, I might want to but I know it's better she doesn't know, I'm not a selfish kid anymore, if she ever does find out it won't be from me" he replies.

Diwali nods once and opens the door, raising his voice slightly he says "no, I don't think there's anyone waiting to see you Eliot..." prompting Sarah to jump up and say "grandpa! You said I could see Eliot!! Please?"

To which the old man rubs his chin and says "oh I don't know, I did tell you you'd have to be quiet, and that wasn't very quiet was it?" Teasingly.

"Please grandfather! I need to help Eliot get better, he only got hurt because of me!" Sarah says quietly starting to cry.

"Oh Sarah! I was only joking! of course you can go see Eliot..." he manages before she's rushing past him and onto the bed, snuggling into Eliot's side and wrapping her arms as far around his waist as she can.

"Hey, hey, Sarah it's ok!" Eliot says stroking her hair and looking up wide-eyed at Diwali "what's wrong babygirl?"

But Sarah just shakes her head against his stomach and squeezes tighter, slowly trying to shuffle into his lap without letting go or looking up, in the end Eliot wraps her up in his arms and pulls her onto his lap fully, nuzzling at the top of her head "it's ok darlin', you know this didn't happen because of you right? It happened because someone wanted to hurt me and Jayda, and they used you to get to us, but that doesn't make it your fault, not even a little bit..." he tells her.

"But daddy says when bad things happen around me it's my fault for being bad" she whispers into his chest, hiding her face against him, making him growl protectively while giving her a gentle squeeze.

"Now you listen to me Sarah, that man, your... daddy, he's like my daddy was, he hates the part of you that's the wolf, maybe he's jealous, I don't know, and because of that it's made him... say nasty things about you that ain't true, but I promise you, this was in no way your fault, this all happened because of somethin' I did before you were born, they just used you to get to us, because they know your aunt Jayda loves you and I love Jayda, and now love you too, so we'd do anythin' to keep you safe, you know i'd never lie to you about somethin' this important, right?" Eliot tells her, stroking her hair.

"Ok, I trust you Eliot, aunt Jayda said I could and I know you're telling the truth, I can smell it, remember?" She reminds him.

"Yeah, I forgot, livin' with only humans for so long makes you forget what it's like being around wolves all the time" he tells her.

"So, no more of this worryin' or thinking it's all your fault, the only thing you are is innocent, and you're loved very, very much" he says, trailing off into a whisper for the last part and ending with a kiss to the top of her head.

"Now, Hardison, what's the plan for gettin' Jay back?" Eliot asks, looking up at the two thieves stood beside his bed as he cuddles the little girl in his lap.

"Well we have fifteen GPS locators, the fourteen from on Jayda and the one from the bag the money was in, they're all in different places, moving sometimes, but none of them have gone to any overlapping locations, even at different times, we've also got fifteen locations bought or rented by 'Damien Moreau' only a couple of which have been visited by any of the locators, the van they've been using has been hired not stolen, and hired by 'Damien Moreau' himself, I'm still trying to get some cctv shots to see if we can ID him, maybe show us who the mastermind in this game is" Hardison reels out, bringing Eliot up to speed with everything they'd learned since he was shot.

"So we got thirty possibilities, plus all the locations that all the GPS's have been to and she might not be at any of them, we know there is someone actually masqueradin' as Moreau, which, if we can ID him might tell us who's behind it all, I got a reason to think it's one of the tribe who's behind this, after all how else would they know to use silver bullets? So which locations are we gonna check first?" Eliot sums up before indicating they should both sit on the bed.

"Well here's the thing El, we need a hitter to help us eliminate each location safely and you're not able to do it, so we need to know who you trust to come help us, so suggestions?" Parker asks.

"We tried to think of who you might trust but we only know about a couple of people, we came up with Shelly, Vance and Quinn, are any of them suitable?" Hardison asks.

"Vance and Shelly are both out in the field at the moment, couldn't get hold of either no matter how desperate I was, Quinn, if I can get hold of him and he's not on a job, will help so long as I pay his usual fee and probably promise him a favour, but I don't know how long it'll take for him to get here, and we could be makin' a start right now! I don't wanna wait and have somethin' terrible happen when I could have protected her from it by movin' my sorry ass! God knows what's already been done to her!" Eliot says, voice rising and growing frantic.

Diwali comes to the doorway at the sound of Eliot's voice "what is going on? Eliot! You must remain calm! If you keep this up your stitches will tear again!" He tells them all, moving forward and putting his hand on Eliot's shoulder "you are no good to my daughter and granddaughter if you bring harm to yourself or go into a fight you are not ready for and get hurt even more seriously, they need you to be well, you need to save your mate, but the right way"

"Okay" Eliot rumbles out, unconsciously holding Sarah tighter to him. "I'll call Quinn" he says closing his eyes and tipping his head back for a few moments "do you guys wanna go get some lunch in town? The burger joint is good and so's the pizza place, unless things have changed?" He asks raising his eyebrows in inquiry.

"No the food at both those places is still good, so is the sub and salad shop and the taco take-out, or I am happy to cook if you prefer, just say so" the Shaman telłs the group.

"I think we'll go into town, see what looks good and give Eliot a chance to get some rest after calling Quinn, Eliot is there anything you want bringing back?" Parker asks.

"Well since my body's burnin' a lot of energy while I heal I'm starvin' and since I don't need to hide it anymore, how about a turkey salad footlong sub, a large meat feast pizza, a couple of tacos and whatever dessert you can scare up, ok?" Eliot replies. Showing them for the first time how much he really needs to eat.

"What about you Sarah? Do you want anything?" Parker asks before really looking at the little girl, who has curled into Eliot's chest, her hand clamped around his arm that is wrapped around her, fast asleep.

"Just get her a turkey sub too, she can share my pizza if she's still hungry after that" Eliot tells her, brushing the hair out of Sarah's face gently.

"Okay we'll get going then, we'll be back soon" Hardison says as he and Parker leave the room.

"I'll return to my studies of the Shaman diaries while you make your phone call" Diwali says handing Eliot his phone before leaving the room to return to his desk.

Heaving a heavy sigh Eliot turns to his phone, he hates having to ask for someone's help, especially for something he feels he needs to do himself, but they are all right, he couldn't do it himself, not yet, so, scrolling through the numbers in his contact list he eventually came to Quinn, he'd never realised quite how many women's numbers he had ended up putting into his phone, he was gonna have to delete all the ones who weren't good friends or work contacts, the last thing he needed was for Jayda to worry about his faithfulness.

Pressing the dial button Eliot puts the phone to his ear and prays to the ancestors that Quinn would pick up, be available and not bust his balls about his asking for another favour.

"Hello?" Answered Quinn's smooth voice, making Eliot mouth a silent thank you to whatever helped him.

"Quinn, it's Eliot Spencer, are you available for a job?" He asks, jumping straight in.

"Well, hello to you too Eliot, I'm doing well thanks for asking... what's the job?" Quinn replies, having a poke at Eliot's lack of phone etiquette.

"I'm sorry but I'm in a hurry and it's important, I need you in Kentucky ASAP, Hardison will arrange flights if you text over your alias and current location details, first class, of course, I need your help with a kidnappin' case that's kinda gone balls up, we're onto a rescue, but with thirty possible locations and I've been shot in the chest, I need the help of someone I can trust, and that's you." He explains to him.

"Why is this so important to you that it needs to be someone you trust?" Quinn inquires.

"Because of who the victim is, have you ever heard of the hitter Jayda Red Cloud?" Eliot asks.

"Yeah I heard of her, who in our game hasn't?" Quinn replies before continuing with "She's supposed to be a stone-cold bitch, she'll do whatever she has to to protect her employer or get her mark, I heard about one time she started to surgically castrate a guy who wouldn't give up where the item she was after was hidden, luckily he told her before any permanent damage was done, but she never batted an eyelash, she's a fucking psycho, tell me we're not going up against her?"

"We're not goin' up against her" Eliot says with a sigh.

"So why are you asking if I've ever heard of her?" Quinn asks, a little confused.

"Because she's who we're savin', and just before you say anythin' else, she's my fiancée, so please be nice, I don't wanna have to hunt you down when I'm better and kill you, ok?" Eliot answers, sighing again, "I'll give you the full story when you get here ok?, you are comin' right?"

"Yeah, I'm coming, just to meet the woman who can make you settle down and get married alone is a good enough reason, but you're a friend who needs help, who'd say no to that? I'll text you my alias etc. And be there by about six depending on the flight Hardison gets me on, should I rent a car?" Quinn says.

"Nah, I'll send Hardison to come pick you up, see you soon Quinn, and thank you, I realły owe you for this" Eliot answers.

"See you soon Eliot" Quinn replies before hanging up.

After a moment of staring at his phone in his hand Eliot leans over and places it on the bedside table, moving back to upright he realises how tired he feels, he knows it's because he hasn't eaten and all his energy is going to healing, so since food was on it's way, and there was nothing else Eliot could do right now, he decides why not copy Sarah's example, and cuddling her closer to him in his lap, he closes his eyes, just for a short nap.

JAYDA

This time when Jayda awakens she's strapped down in the stocks again, not that she notices at first, as she's woken by a bucket of hot saltwater being thrown over her, which with the abrasions from the scrubbing and the beating feels like acid eating into her.

When she finally stops screaming the voice is back, crowing again "what's this? I thought you were supposed to be tough? Screaming at a bit of water, pathetic! But don't worry, you're not finished yet, your back needs scrubbing, and then the rest too"

After this announcement she immediately feels the brush start scrubbing the back of her right ankle and leg, moving up quickly, but making sure to overlap the already raw flesh from the sides, which is excruciating, just so no inch is missed, before she knows it the brush is grating over her back agonisingly, catching in the welts and scabs from the beating the day before, she spares a moment to mourn her tattoos that spread down her back, knowing that if not ruined and destroyed completely, they at the least would never be the same again, her tribal markings down her spine, and huge stone-effect gargoyle-esque wings that trail from her shoulders to well below her ass, taking up the full width of her back apart from the three inch wide strip down her spine, but at least her favourite should be safe, her blue-fire Phoenix on the back of her neck, trailing down between her shoulders a little and flaring up onto the back of her skull, so far they hadn't touched her neck and at the moment both the collar and the stocks were in the way protecting it, she actually hoped they'd keep her like this just to protect it!

She endures the scrubbing until every inch of skin below her neck is raw, the only spot untouched being between her legs, the part he keeps insulting and saying needs to be cleaned, and she just knows this is going to get worse.

She hears the rattling noise again and grinds her teeth knowing that he's enjoying this, getting off on it, it just makes her so angry, she could kill him with her bare hands, happily, then he speaks from behind her, 'still being a coward then' she thinks, "So Bitch, time for the nasty part, we've got to try to get that rancid twat clean, so here's what we're gonna try" at this the bull-necked man appears in front of her, holding out what looks like the bastard love child of a large bottle brush and a toilet brush, the bristles looking just like the ones on the brush that has been used to scrub her body, it's obvious that this is intended to be used internally on her, at this sight and realisation she starts screaming, swearing and struggling, pulling with all her limbs against the straps holding her in place, even yanking at her broken wrist, but she has no chance, there were too many points where she was secured.

"If you're goin' to have this done to me, then have the balls to face me! Or do you only have dried up little raisins where your balls should be? Is that why you want your men to fuck me? Because you can't? Not like you'll ever measure up against Eliot anyway! Your dick's probably so small I wouldn't even feel it!" She yells out, trying to goad her captor into coming into the light, at the first insult a glass of ice and some clear liquid hits the floor to her right, shattering like a bomb going off, she hears a growl and something grabs up a handful of her hair and pulls back hard, making her head tip as far as the collar and stocks allow, the bull-necked man disappearing back behind her "you listen to me Bitch! I wouldn't stain myself by touching your putrid quim if my life depended on it! I'd rather make Spencer my bitch and fuck his ass than touch you! So throw all the insults you want, it won't get to me, but I'll tell you what, since you're so keen for me to fuck you, how about I do this next part? Consider it me fucking you with a sex toy or something..." he whispers out smugly.

"Only impotent men need to use somethin' instead of their dick to fuck" Jayda tells him, knowing this is going to end badly but not being able to stop herself goading him now she's started.

"Yes we've already established what you think, save your breath for your pathetic screams Bitch!" He answers her.

The next thing she feels is the hard bristles against her outer labia, then twisting, trying to separate them to get at the sensitive flesh between, she's biting her lip so hard she can taste blood, but it's agonising already, she knows that there is nothing she'll be able to do to stop herself screaming, and she's running out of strength and hope already, she knows that any normal bullet wound would be more than half healed already on Eliot, and if he was that healed he'd be here getting her out, if not then they somehow knew to use silver bullets, and since they knew about the tribe Pack there was a good chance they knew, and that shot to the chest might well have been lethal, Jayda goes stone cold at the thought of Eliot being gone, her mate stolen from her by this lowlife who's about to violate her, and she wants to kill him, she wants it so bad she's salivating at the thought.

'Oh, if only you could become a werewolf from being bitten,' she thinks 'Eliot has bitten me and broken the skin twice, no three times, surely that would have made me one by now, I could change and slip out of these straps, escape these men and then come back with others to help and kill them all'

She's broken from her daydream by 'The Implement', as she begins to thinks of it, being thrust into her roughly as deep as it will go, causing her to release her bleeding lip and scream like she had not screamed ever before in her life, the pain as it's drawn back, twisted and then forced inwards again, making her head swim and eyes roll, he seems to quickly pick a pace and technique as he carries on, starting the twist while it is still pushed in tightly, continuing as he pulls it back and then reversing the twist on the ram back in before starting again, he hastily picks up the pace and after just a minute or two she can hear his breathing becoming breathless pants, which when she feels trickles running down both thighs becomes interspersed with giggles, full on evil mastermind giggles, all because he had made her bleed, he was insane! Before the next thrust in he puts a hand on the base of her spine as if to hold her still, and then uses it as leverage to put more force behind the movement of his arm, making her scream just a little bit louder.

"Now just to make sure the antiseptic gets all the way where it needs to we have a little tool here called a douche, it'll get the cleaning fluid all the way up that hideous snatch of yours and make sure all sign of the mutt is washed out, got anything clever to say about that?" He sneers from behind her.

Jayda's mind quickly flashes back to the last time she was laid naked and being held in Eliot's arms, his face buried in her neck and hair as he said "so we've been trying since yesterday?" Followed by "Then this is a good thing" and she quickly makes a choice, it's a risk but so would not be saying anything at all.

"Please, don't do that! I... I.... I'm pregnant!" She tells them, hoping it's true but fearing it is too, god knows what this kind of abuse would do if she was, even as unlikely as it was "That stuff would be almost guaranteed to kill it! Please! I know you hate me and Eliot but this baby is innocent! Please, please, don't do this, I don't care if you.... if you have... have all of them use me on a daily basis, I won't fight and I'll try not to scream, but please don't do this!" She says putting every ounce of grifter she has into making her pleas seem genuine.

With a harsh tug he pulłs 'The Implement' free of her body, and true to her word she bites her lip and lets out only a quiet, muffled squeal.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" He asks suspiciously "and how far along are you?"

Jayda quickly thinks, he knows about silver bullets, so he either is part of the tribe, or has someone on staff who is, so she needs to have fallen pregnant while she wasn't in town, so that saying she'd been to see Eliot as at least part of her reason to be away would be believable, her last job finished five weeks ago, so six weeks would be perfect, for all anyone around here knows she really was with Eliot then.

"I didn't say anythin' because I thought that you might have your goons beat and kick me in the stomach if you knew, but now it's almost guaranteed that chemical would cause a miscarriage, weighed against bein' beaten which there is a slim chance my child will survive, I'm bettin' on you not being the kind of person who would harm an innocent, after all you didn't hurt Sarah from what I could tell when I saw her, oh yeah and I'm six weeks, just at the beginnin', but still excited, or we were until this"

"So, the mutt knew did he?" The voice says, smirking again by the sound of it.

No sooner had she finished thinking about the smirk in his voice than she realises, he spoke about Eliot in the past tense!

"What do you mean 'he did know'?" She demands, trying desperately to turn her head to see him.

"Oh, in all the excitement I forgot to mention it, the mongrel died last night, seems someone nailed that mangy cur with a silver bullet to the chest, he lasted a couple of minutes after we left, got a couple of miles before dropping, kid's ok though, back with the old man and your sister, but there ain't no one coming here for you" he tells her, breaking her heart even as she feels relief at knowing Sarah is safe, and that she got a chance to tell Eliot, he got to be with his daughter, even if only for a few minutes, and that is the straw that breaks her, she lets her head hang loosely, relaxes every muscle in her body, as every single spark of energy goes into crying for her mate, she doesn't care that she's sobbing and crying in front of her captors, the only thing she cares about was that Eliot was gone, and she'd never had a chance to explain her choices to him, to earn his forgiveness and now she never would, she starts praying silently to the ancestors and their animal guardians to let her be pregnant, let her have this one last thing of Eliot, please.

After a few minutes of watching her cry the voice says "take her out of the contraption, leave her on the floor and give her a bottle of water, I need to think about what to do next and I can't think with all this caterwauling going on"

"We can gag her again?" Offers a new voice, most likely bull-neck she assumes "no, the way she's going, if you gag her she won't be able to breathe because her nose will get blocked up, and I'm not ready for her to be dead yet, just take her out and leave the bracelet on" at this command she hears footsteps walking on concrete and then what sounds like a very heavy door being opened and then closed, leaving the room in silence.

When Jayda feels a hand grab her ankle she can't help a flinch and a quiet squeal, it was like for a moment she forgot she wasn't alone, then she feels the buckle on the strap around her mid thigh being undone, followed by the one below her knee and finally her ankle, once the whole leg is free apart from his tight grip around her ankle bull-neck says "if I let go do you promise to behave? Your other option is being chloroformed and that ain't gonna be nice for you, just so you know no one but the boss has a key to the manacle, so even if you managed to kill me, it ain't gonna do you no good, just get you and your little bun hurt worse, so do you promise?" He pauses to let her answer.

"Yes, I promise" she says in a meek and broken voice, bull-neck must have decided that she sounds honest enough because he lets go of her ankle, quickly unstrapping the other leg and the straps around her body and upper arms, slowly he lifts the top half of the stocks off after undoing a latch on either end, releasing her hands and head.

"Thank you" she says in that same quiet, broken voice as she sits up and then hangs her head, "where do you want me?" She asks, not sure where she's meant to move to.

"Stay right there, it's where you're chained to" he says, before adding "look if it was up to me i'd give you a blanket or something, but boss says no, so the best I can do is give you the water bottle he told me to leave, ok?"

"Ok" she tonelessly answers before thinking of something "will you help me get out of here?" She asks

"I can't, I might disagree with this but I took the job and I took payment, I have to do my job, sorry" he tells her, actually looking sorry as he says it.

"Will that include rapin' me when he says to?" She asks him, hoping to get through to him.

"No it won't, the reason I'm the one helping him right now is because when I signed up I told them I was impotent, that way I'm never expected to rape anyone, I find rape abhorrent, it's something I would never stoop to, right now he trusts me with you, above anyone else because of that, and there are reasons for that, like he wants a close up, live action, show of it when it happens for the first time, he's sick" he explains.

"If you won't help me get out, will you at least tell my family a message from me? Please?" She asks.

"How am I meant to do that? Walk up to one of them with a giant neon sign over my head saying 'kidnapper!'? There's no way I can get a message to them without compromising myself, I'm sorry" he tells her

"What about an email? Or print out a note and post it to them? I don't care how you do it! Just please, please get the message to them!" She begs.

"Look I'll try, what do you want them to know?" He offers.

"Tell them it's one of the tribe, if you know who and you really don't want to see this gettin' worse maybe you could tell them who it is, but that's up to you, while you're at it if you want you could tell them where I am, but the most important thing is you've gotta tell 'em that they are not to pay or trade anythin' for me, not one red cent! With Eliot gone I don't care what happens to me, I just don't want them to be blackmailed into givin' anythin' up for me when my reason for livin' is gone, he's beaten me, I give up, I'll tell him what he wants to know if he'll promise to keep me alive long enough to give birth, and then give the baby to my father, it's my only condition, once the baby is safe he can kill me or whatever, I don't care." Jayda tells him looking up at him from her seat on the floor at the feet of this six-foot jailer.

He nods briefly before picking up the stocks and moving them out of the circle of light and some distance into the room, when he comes back to her he hands her an unopened bottle of water as well as the second half of the bottle she'd been given before the scrubbing started.

"I know he said one bottle but since the other one would only be wasted I'll give it to you too, ok? Just throw the bottle as far as you can to your left once it's empty, hopefully he won't spot it before I can clear it away, any questions before I go?" He asks.

"Er well there is one thing... what do I do about goin' to the bathroom? I'm gettin' a little uncomfortable here and that chain don't look like it's made to separate to allow me access to a restroom" she says frowning a little.

"You see the drain about a foot away from the spike?" He points out, it's a small round drain about six inches across with a slashed style drain cover "the cover lifts, use that, OK?" He finishes

"What about cleanin' myself after? Can I have some tissue, please?" She requests quietly.

"Sorry, boss said no, something about humiliation, but at least you have the drain, right?" He says in a faux-cheerful voice.

"Oh ok then, thank you" she answers, looking at the floor as she curls around her broken wrist again.

At this he shakes his head looking down at her and then turns and walks away, leaving her finally, blessedly alone, so she can mourn the man she's always loved more than life, and all the things she never said to him, in peace.


	13. Quinn's arrival and Jayda surprises Eliot again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quinn lands and gets the biggest shock of his life when he arrives at the Shaman's house, Eliot learns more of Jayda's secrets, and has to decide whether to keep some of them secret or come clean, and Jayda goes through some changes because of her grief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my loving husband Incubi who has put up with all my shit while I've been recovering, including my fourth watch through of all of Leverage in a row (what can I say? I have such a weakness for Christian with long hair...)
> 
> Warnings are for:- small mentions of violent child abuse in the past and emotional child abuse in the past.

QUINN

Quinn gets off the plane, gets his bag and heads for the exit of the airport, hoping he doesn't have to walk far to where Hardison has parked the car, even though he'd been in first class he still always feels like he's been cramped up in coach after more than an hour in the air, it was so annoying.

When he spots Hardison he suddenly remembers how irritating he found the hacker, and now he had to share a vehicle with him, alone, for however long the drive takes, oh wonderful!

"Hardison, good to see you again! Where are we parked?" He asks as Hardison falls into step along side him and they exit the terminal building.

"Right here man, got special parking permits and things!" Hardison replies to him exuberantly, before asking "how much did Eliot tell you?"

"Well, he said this was a kidnapping that had gone 'balls up', that we're now trying to save Jayda Red Cloud, the coldest hearted, hitter bitch and raving psycho in the world, oh yeah and that he's engaged to her, which can I just say WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK?!?, Eliot engaged, weird enough, but to her? Is the apocalypse coming? So yeah, that's what he told me" Quinn says heaving a breath out "so what did he miss out?"

Hardison stares at him for a moment with his mouth hanging open until Quinn raises an eyebrow at him and indicates the road "sorry... just.. sorry man, that's like the most I've ever heard you say, like if you put together everything I heard you say before today it would be less than that! It was just a surprise is all" Hardison babbles out before answering the question "so the stuff he missed out... well him and Jayda were childhood best friends, were inseparable until they were 17 and a girl got between them, Eliot is crazy about this lady, we're talking lay down and die crazy, the child who was originally kidnapped is Jayda's niece or at least she thinks she is, she was adopted at birth..." 

"Let me guess, Eliot's her real daddy right?" Quinn says with complete confidence.

"How did you know that? Did Eliot tell you?" Hardison asks.

"No, it just seemed obvious, you guys came down here to save a kid, asked by the most feared woman in the world for help, and then she... what? swaps herself for the kid? and Eliot ends up getting shot in the chest, there had to be something about the kid that made her that important to them that they'd both put their lives on the line for her, and then Eliot calls me and asks me for help because he can't do it and it's important to him? Had to be about blood, family, so it was an easy guess" Quinn explains shrugging.

"Man!, you good!" Hardison exclaims in admiration "but your not supposed to know til he tells you ok?" He impresses on Quinn.

"So how long is the drive?" Quinn asks wondering if he has time for a short nap.

"About 45 minutes from here I think, give or take" Hardison answers looking over at Quinn briefly. "If you wanna nap or something go ahead, it's no problem"

"Well if you're sure it's not a problem..." Quinn starts before being cut off by Hardison.

"Nah man! It's alł good! You nap away, I'll wake you when we're about five minutes out so you got time to wake up and stuff" he tells him.

With that assurance Quinn tips his head to a comfortable angle, crosses his arms tightly across his chest and goes to sleep.

*****************************************************

"Quinn! Hey man, time to wake up! We're nearly there!" Hardison shouts, making Quinn jump in his seat and curse at the hacker before giving him the glare that all hitters seem to share.

"I'm sat two feet away from you, there was no need to shout!" Quinn says through gritted teeth.

"Sorry man, it's just I misjudged the timing and you have all of a minute to wake up and get your game face on, sorry" Hardison apologises, looking nervously at the hitter out of the side of his eye.

"It's fine, I'm awake and as unrumpled as it's possible to be after flying and then being in a car for an hour, so we're all set." Quinn replies straightening his tie and retying his hair at the base of his skull, it was nearly as long as Eliot's now, although much curlier and harder to tame.

As they pull up outside Diwali's house they can hear shouting coming from inside the house, after a quick glance Hardison notices Ruby and Jared's truck parked on the other side of Jayda's and realises that the voice he can hear shouting is Jared, he turns to Quinn.

"This is not good" he says, looking wide eyed at the hitter, "listen, the guy in there is the little girl's adopted dad, she told Eliot this morning that he hurts her, hits her and stuff, and Eliot wouldn't let her adoptive mom take her back home to him, she'd stayed the night with El after he was shot, she wouldn't leave his side, it was because she didn't want to leave that she told him what had been happening, El didn't know she was his and Jayda's until literally just moments before he was shot, and he's gone all hyper protective of her, but he and the Shaman who owns this house, Jayda and Ruby's father, are determined she not find out El is her dad, but with what's happening now it might end up coming out, this is a real shit show and the last thing we need right now is evil-dad causing shit because he hates Eliot, he bullied him at school and has said some pretty bad things about El and Jay in the last three days, I have no idea what we're gonna be walking in on..."

"Hardison, breathe, do you have some spare earbuds with you?" Quinn asks him.

"Of course I do! I always do my jo..." he starts to rant.

"Good, give me one, if we're lucky Eliot or Parker will be wearing theirs, if not, you go in and tell me what's going on and then I'll come in and bust heads as needed, ok? Good!" Quinn explains calmly.

Hardison immediately pulls out his little case of earbuds and hands one to Quinn and puts one in himself, they both get the sudden stereo sensation of hearing the muffled shouting from outside and the crystal clear clarity of the transmission of the earbuds at the same time, instantly they hone in on what the shouting voice is saying.

'...ck you you filthy mongrel! You're not so big and bad, hiding behind an old man, a skinny woman and a child that doesn't even belong to you...'

"The HELL she doesn't! You were entrusted with the care of this little girl and all you've done is hurt her! Tellin' her she's bad or evil, just because of what she is, telling her she's dirty and stupid when she's a genius! She's a perfect, beautiful, innocent little girl who deserves nothing but love and support, and all you offer her is pain and fear, you're a bully who picks on little girls, what? You not man enough to have a fair fight with someone your own size? You were always happy enough to beat on me when we were kids!" Eliot shouts at him 

'Well beating you wouldn't be beating someone my own size now would it, shorty? And if I decide to discipline my children who are you to say I'm wrong? Not like you have kids! Well except the one you we're never told about so that you couldn't get anywhere near it! That's the kind of father Jayda thinks you'd be, that bad she would never have told you about Sarah if she hadn't been forced to! She would have let you die without ever knowing! Hell not like half the men in the tribe haven't had her at some point or another, hear tell she has a thing for them in their wolf forms, she had you fuck her as a wolf yet? No? Never mind, I'm sure she's getting a good seeing to wherever she is...'

"ENOUGH!" They hear Diwali shout over the comms "how dare you speak about my daughter that way, in MY house, to her mate and in front of a young child! You are as reprehensible as I always thought, get out RIGHT NOW and go pack your things, I warned Ruby that if you didn't stop you would be banished, well now you've gone too far! you have until noon tomorrow to leave our lands, my daughter and both my granddaughters will be staying here, you will come here at eleven and I shall buy out your half of the farm, then I want you to leave and never return, AM I UNDERSTOOD?"

'Whatever old man, I'm not the only one with a problem with these filthy bastard monsters, someone else will get rid of them, and you too, and then I'll come back and piss on your ashes!' As Jared finishes talking all they hear is a very loud very deep growl, followed by a bark and then the sound of someone being attacked by a very large predator.

Then they hear Diwali again shouting "Sarah! Eliot! NO! You mustn't! Go! run together! Come back once he's gone!"

At this Quinn looks at Hardison, raises his eyebrows in question and when he gets no answer goes slamming in through the front door, where he comes face to face with what can only be described as a giant mostly black wolf, and behind it what appears to be a youngish auburn wolf pup, Quinn immediately stops stock still and holds out his hands to his sides, he knows that with a wild wolf this would be the wrong thing to do, but he's fairly sure this isn't any wild wolf, and he's sure he knows those blue eyes.

"Eliot? It's ok it's just me Quinn, I ain't gonna hurt you or the little one, I'll settle in and get info from the others while your out with the pup, and I'll deal with this little problem we have here for you, I'm gonna have to step forwards to open the door for you so you can both get out OK? Alright here we go..." Quinn says slowly and calmly, as the wolf's head slowly tips to one side consideringly, once the door is open and Quinn is stood as far out of the way as he can get Eliot herds the pup out of the door, once he's halfway out he turns his massive head and chuffs at Quinn before raising his chin in what on a human would be a respectful gesture, then he's gone, charging for the trees with the pup at his heels.

Hardison comes over to Quinn and says "that was Eliot?" In a wonder filled voice.

"Yeah I think so, had his eyes, hell they both did" he answers, his voice pretty awestruck too.

"How come you guys never told me about this?" He asks a little petulantly.

"Dude we only found out thirty six hours ago, and even then it was only because he was on the verge of dying" Hardison tells him.

"That wolf there? Was on the verge of death from a bullet to the chest, thirty six hours ago? That's impossible!" Quinn argues.

"You just watched your friend you've known five years walk out of this house as an honest-to-god giant wolf, and you wanna say something's impossible?" Hardison answers raising his eyebrows and bugging his eyes out.

"Good point" Quinn admits and then walks into the chaos Eliot has left behind.

JAYDA

When Jayda wakes up she's laid on her side, arms wrapped around herself and legs drawn up to about waist height, her skin is a burning agony, where she has been laid hurting more from the pressure but feeling a little soothed by the coldness of the floor, but the most important thing of all, she is alone, for the first time she doesn't need to fear what's about to happen the moment she awakens, but her first thought is not a positive one, it's 'where are they? Why won't they just get on and kill me?' Having lost all hope and care knowing Eliot is gone.

At the thought of Eliot she starts to cry again, quietly, heartbrokenly allowing all her pain to pour from her body, but finding that no matter how much pain leaves her body there was always more to replace it, like a bottomless well overflowing, and she hates it! She just wants her feelings to stop!.

But as she lays there she starts thinking, it's not like this was some freak accident that had taken Eliot away, it was these bastards! They'd gone to the exchange loaded with the only thing that could really hurt Eliot, or kill him if it got into his bloodstream in sufficient amounts, and even though they had done everything the way they'd been told to they shot him anyway! Right in front of his seven year old daughter!

At these realisations she suddenly decides, they are gonna pay for this! She wasn't gonna lay down and die, let them kill the possibility of her having Eliot's child, keeping it this time and raising it, seeing that part of Eliot everyday! She wasn't going to let them get away with it, she would make them regret the day they ever decided to hurt her family and her Mate!.

Although Jayda was too wrapped up in her own head and her hatred for her captors to notice, things were happening to her as her hatred grew and fuelled her anger, she had started to growl, not like a human, all in the throat, but deep in her chest like an animal, her eyes were lightening to a blue shade more like ice than Eliot's steel blue, and her teeth were elongating, not like Eliot's when he got mad but enough that if anyone had been there to witness it they would not have been able to miss it, but she did not notice these changes, and as the anger she had gathered turned again to grief they subsided leaving no trace on the sobbing, broken woman.

ELIOT 

After a while running, making sure the pup, no HIS pup, is still behind him every few seconds, Eliot's wolf brain begins to realise that they need to get to a den, somewhere safe where they can talk and wait until it's safe to return to the Shaman's house, Eliot doesn't know these woods as well as he did, it's been a very long time since he ran here, so he decides to go to the one safe place he does know, Jayda's house, Their home by the lake, Eliot herds the pup in the right direction and takes off with her, heading home.

Once they arrive at the house by the lake the pup looks up at Eliot waiting to see how he was going to get them in, he had no key, no lockpicks and he was pretty sure it would take a battering ram to take down the front door, he was completely stuck, now what would they do?

With a yip the pup darts off around the corner of the house, he follows not wanting to lose the young one he's protecting, when he has followed her to the garden behind the house he sees what appears to be a hot tub, just outside the glass folding doors that make up the whole back wall of the ground floor of the house, which explained what Jayda meant the morning he'd carried her down the stairs and she offered him outside or basement, she should have told him why, he'd have picked the hot tub! 

The little one darts over to the corner of the wall next to the hot tub and pushes the wooden wall on the side of the house and due to the glass wall he was able to see that the wooden wall moved! Jayda, genius that she was, had a secret puppy door built into the wall! It was nowhere near big enough for him but the pup could get in, and then open the glass doors for him! He goes over and nuzzles and licks her affectionately to let her know how well she's done, then he nudges her towards the puppy door, telling her it's OK and to go on in.

Before going in the pup comes over to stand in front of the giant wolf who's sat waiting patiently, she sits down, then lays down, and finally rolls over on her back, showing this huge Alpha wolf that she is of his Pack and she recognises his leadership, after a few seconds she rolls to her feet and looks up at him giving him a big, tongue-lolling, happy wolf smile, before darting to the door and slipping into the house.

After a couple of minutes waiting Eliot spots movement deep in the darkness of the large room, then a lamp clicks on and the whole room is lit in warm yellow light, Sarah is stood beside the light wrapped up in one of the fuzzy blankets from over the back of the sofa, she comes to the doors, fiddles with the lock a few seconds and then the door slides back letting Eliot trot into the house, once he was in Sarah closes and locks the doors again and then pushes a button on the wall that makes the glass fade until it is all coloured black, Eliot tips his head watching this, wondering why this kind of glass was used and why Sarah had just used it.

Sarah looks at Eliot, who's head is roughly on a level with hers and asks him "are you gonna change back? Or have I done something wrong? I don't know how things are meant to work when I'm a wolf!, I've never been around other wolves, when I change daddy puts me in a cage in the garage."

At this Eliot lifts his top lip, bares his teeth and growls, full of anger, unfortunately this has an unexpected effect, Sarah screams and bolts up the stairs towards the bedrooms, Eliot hears a door slam, lock and then crying, things he wouldn't hear if he wasn't a were, but now making sure he knows how badly he just fucked up.

Eliot comes over to in front of the fireplace, he can't fix this while he is a wolf, much as he'd like to stay in this form longer, it's been a long time since he spent anything but the absolute minimum length of time in his wolf form and he misses it, but right now he has a terrified little girl to deal with, so with a full body shake, as if shaking off water after a swim, he begins to change back, it only takes about two minutes, but sometimes those two minutes can seem much longer, depending on how relaxed you are, if you're in a hurry, if you're in danger, or if someone else needs you, it can seem so painful when you're stressed or fighting it, or seem to take an eternity if you need to be quick, but under most conditions it took about two minutes.

There was a legend amongst the tribe that occasionally there would be one chosen by the ancestors, the one meant to wear the wolf-soul stone, and he could change instantly, he would be a larger wolf than any others, and he would be the true Alpha of the tribe Pack, but most (Eliot included) just thought it a myth, something to urge every wolf to be the best person he could be, Eliot always hoped that the Pack as a whole all measured up to the expectation of the mythical true Alpha and that's why one had never been chosen in living memory, because they were all worthy, so no one could be chosen, and of course since Eliot had been away so long he was considered to be not one of the pack any longer, he was seen as either an Alpha yet to build his pack or a lone wolf, either way he was respected but not one of them.

Once Eliot stood in front of the fireplace on two feet rather than four, he gave himself another full body shake and grabbed a blanket off the sofa, wrapping it around his waist and rolling it to keep it in place, he climbed the stairs to the second level and goes to the closed bathroom door, when he finds it locked he knows he has the right room.

"Sarah, babygirl, c'mon out of there, I ain't gonna hurt you, you know I won't, I wasn't growlin' at you, I was just angry about what had been done to you, wolves should never be locked in cages, but especially not weres and not by their families, I hate knowin' that has been done to you because I wasn't here, I shoulda been, I woulda been if i'd had the chance, I promise, will you come out now?" He tells her.

"Eliot?" Sarah calls out quietly.

"Yeah, babygirl?" He replies just as quietly.

"What he... my d... Jared said when he was shouting, the... the way you smell like me, and you.... you calling me that, it's because you're my real d... daddy isn't it?" She asks him, and Eliot sits down on the floor of the hallway, hard, and bites his lip.

What the hell was he meant to say to that? He'd promised Jayda and Diwali he wouldn't tell her, but he'd also promised her that he wouldn't lie to her either, and she was a genius, so even if he tried to lie she'd probably know, what was he gonna say? He thinks as he runs his fingers into his hair and grabs two handfuls near the roots, pulling firmly so that the pain would centre his spinning mind, well the important thing was to get her to unlock the door, then worry about the rest.

"Well, here's the thing, I made your granddaddy a promise I wouldn't talk about this with you, and you wouldn't want me to break a solemn promise now would you?" He asks, praying that he's taking the right direction.

"No, I wouldn't want you to break your promise because of me" she says through the door "but if I come out can I call you daddy while we're here?" She asks so quietly and meekly that he barely hears her, werewolf hearing or not "just for a little bit, please?"

"If you really want to you can, but just until we go back to your granddaddy's place ok?" Eliot answers, fighting against the lump in his throat that is trying to choke him, at his words the bathroom door springs open and he suddenly has a lap full of seven year old, crying and hugging him like she was about to watch him die.

"Ssshhhh, babygirl, it's OK, you're safe here, with me, I won't let anythin' bad ever happen to you again, you know that right?" He asks.

"I know" she says, looking up at him with wet eyes the mirror of his own "daddy"

QUINN

As Quinn comes into the room Eliot had presumably just come out of he's surprised to see a man kneeling on the floor, blood trailing from puncture wounds all around his neck, obviously where the large wolf (Eliot, oh my GOD that was Eliot) had pinned him by closing his jaws around the mans neck, gently, not enough to cause real damage, but enough to leave a lasting reminder, on the floor nearby is a shotgun that Quinn can tell from where he is in the doorway is fully loaded, he steps forward decisively, scoops up the gun, and unloads it, before looking up at the older native man stood in front of a shell-shocked and rather green looking Parker, obviously the man had acted as a shield to keep Parker safe, making him one of the good guys in Quinn's book.

"Sir, what do you want doing with him?" He asks grabbing the kneeling man by the collar, making him jump as if he hadn't been aware that there were other people in the room.

"Oh! please throw him out, once you know the wolves are away from here" the man answers looking a little shocked himself.

"The wolves are already away, I made sure before coming in" he informs them, getting twin sighs of relief at the news, before hauling the kneeling man to his feet and bodily throwing him out of the door, but not before whispering "Eliot might not be here, but I am literally just as good as him, and I'm not held back by knowing you, these people are under my protection, and I'll protect them just as carefully as Eliot would, so stay away, follow the old mans commands and get out, you're getting a better deal than you deserve"

Once he's watched the man get into his truck and drive away he re-enters the house and locks the door behind him, the room everyone had been in was now empty, so Quinn follows the sound of Hardison's voice stressing over Parker's safety until he finds himself in the largest domestic kitchen he's ever seen.

"Well, Alec, any other small items you want to tell me about that you failed to on the drive?" He says with his signature dry wit, raising his brows and waiting for Hardison to stammer out a reply, he's a little surprised that what he gets is a clear-ish, concise, list of the facts so far, and it sounded like an intro to a soap opera, 'previously on the fucked up life of Eliot Spencer...' he almost smirks at the thought but manages to keep his bland mask in place.

Now that Quinn had the full story he understands why it had to be someone Eliot trusted, Hardison had introduced him to the Shaman, Diwali Red Cloud, Jayda's father and, well, kind of Eliot's father-in-law.

The situation was a search and retrieval, with a time limit, the extent of which was unknown at the moment, and they had a lot of potential locations to check, so they needed to get started, and they didn't have time to wait for Eliot to turn back up, as much as Quinn might have liked to talk to him first. 

"Right, here's what we're gonna do" Quinn starts, before noticing the look he was getting from Parker "what?" He says, raising his shoulders defensively.

"Just, the planning is my job now Nate's gone" she says sounding a little unsure.

"Do you have a plan right now?" Quinn asks softly.

"No, Eliot was on lead this time because it's his family and he's the K&R specialist, I'm a little lost now he's run off..." she admits, starting to look a little green towards the end.

"Are you ok?" Quinn and Hardison ask at the same time, just as Diwali starts handing out mugs of hot, sweet, tea.

"She has seen something not many outside our tribe have ever seen, she saw Eliot change, I have been told it is much worse to watch than to endure, in fact I've been told it can feel good to change, but for someone who's mind works as Parker's does it can be nausea inducing" Diwali tells them, trying to comfort Parker with his words.

"What do you mean 'someone who's mind works like Parker's does'?" Hardison asks getting defensive on his girlfriend's behalf.

"I meant as someone who visualises puzzles, to see the way Eliot's skeleton and musculature changes and try to fit that into a 'normal' reference can be sickening, seeing things this way, it's a sign of high intelligence, and is part of the reason werewolves don't usually change in front of others, not even each other" he explains.

"Oh, ok" Hardison replies quietly, feeling a bit like a fool.

"It's alright my friend, it is good you are accepting, protective and defensive about your partners differences, it shows your love" Diwali answers with a small smile.

"Right, ok, I'll tell you what, let me outline my plan and if you don't like it or disagree we'll figure something else out, ok?" Quinn proposes.

"Ok" Parker answers while Hardison nods along with her.

"Alright, me and Parker go out, start searching locations, you Hardison keep doing your magic, look for anywhere that's had no power use in some time that has started to in the last few weeks, and if you can spot some bulky guys all going to the same area on cctv that might be worth following, I'm sure you already asked Eliot if there's anywhere he thinks might be likely, the only other thing I can think of is... well that guy who was here, he hates Eliot right? Does that go for Jayda too? Because if so is there any chance he could be part of this?" Quinn lays out his thinking for them, bringing some awful ideas forward.

"He's Sarah's adopted dad, he'd have no reason to kidnap his own daughter" Hardison tells him "although, if the looks he was giving her the first day we were here were anything to go by, then yeah he hates Jay too"

"You realise that if she was just a means to an end, i.e. Always with the intention to swap her for Jayda, kidnapping his own daughter would not be a problem, after all he's in charge, she's not gonna be hurt unless he orders it" Quinn points out.

After a few moments of silence and looking at each other Quinn decides to continue "OK, we'll leave that avenue for now, but will keep it in mind for the future if we don't find her soon, I think we should start searching the nearest locations first, if this is all meant to be a way to torture Eliot, then if I was the mastermind i'd want to stay close by so I could witness his suffering, not be so far away I can't quietly gloat to myself over it, what do you say?" Quinn asks.

"Sounds right to me" Hardison answers before turning to Parker and raising his eyebrows.

"I think you've got into this guys head, your plan is sound, lets go" she answers, standing from her stool and heading for the coat rack next to the door. 

"Ok then, Hardison see you soon!" Quinn says before following her out of the door.

Hardison turns to Diwali and asks "is it ok if I use your internet?" Asking a permission he wouldn't usually care about, but this time wishing to show his respect by asking.

"Mr Hardison, you are trying to find and save my daughter, everything I have is at your disposal, it is the least I can do to help" Diwali answers.

"Please call me Alec" Hardison replies, feeling uncomfortable with the older man addressing him as Mr all the time.

"And I am Diwali, my friend" he answers holding out his hand for Alec to shake.

Alec accepts the handshake smiling, before saying "well I'm going to go, set up my search programs looking for the things Quinn suggested and once they are all running I'm gonna go scrub out the drivers side of Jayda's truck, it's still soaked in Eliot's blood and I'm sure they'd both prefer it to be clean when they get back."

"How about I join you? We'll scrub it all out and get rid of any trace of what happened, and doing it together it will take a lot less time" Diwali offers.

"That would be great!" Hardison replies "just give me ten minutes for the programs, alright?" 

ELIOT

After sitting in the hallway, back against the railing surrounding the staircase, holding his crying daughter for about half an hour Eliot decides he needs to move them, Sarah has just started to shiver and even he is feeling cold, so he shifts, turning Sarah's head so that she is facing him, tears still running down her face.

"Hey, hey, shush now, no need to cry babygirl, you're safe here, but it is cold, so how about I go get dressed and then we'll go down stairs and light the fireplace ok?" He whispers into her hair.

"Can I get dressed too?" She asks him.

"Well... I don't have anything for you to wear... I guess mayb..." he starts before she interrupts him.

"I have clothes here, daddy, so that I always have something clean and dry to go home in, because one time me and aunt... me and Jayda got caught in the rain out in the woods, and when we got back to my house HE shouted at Jayda, and said that if she couldn't keep me clean and dry when I was here he wouldn't let me come visit anymore, so the next time I came over we went shopping and she let me pick whatever clothes I wanted, and then she did the same for Jane too, she keeps the clothes under the window seat, over there" she says pointing at the cosy nook he'd noticed the first time he'd climbed the stairs.

"Ok then, lets get us dressed and warm" he says, setting Sarah on her feet and trying to ignore the pain in his heart at her calling him daddy.

Once he's stood up too Eliot goes over to the window seat and lifts the cushioned lid, inside he finds two plastic storage boxes, one labelled 'Jane' and the other 'Sarah', taking the lid from Sarah's box he asks her "what do you want to wear, babygirl?"

She comes over to stand next to him and says "black jeans and the giant cream sweater please, oh and underwear please, they're in the bottom of the box" making him curse Jayda's lack of logical organisational skills, he digs into the bottom of the box and finds underwear for Sarah, looking down at these tiny garments in his hands he feels himself start to blush, feeling uncomfortable with something that shouldn't bother him at all, which makes him sad and a little angry at Jayda, but that was just another thing to talk about once she's home and healed, he hands them to Sarah and looking back into the box asks "do you want a tshirt for under the sweater, honey?" 

"No this is fine!" She chirps behind him, reminding him of Parker when she's really happy, he stays where he is tidying the box over and over to give Sarah the chance to dress before turning around, but eventually he feels a tug on his blanket, nearly strong enough to make it come undone, he grabs the waist of his blanket just in case it had been loosened too much and turns towards Sarah, looking down at her as she holds the sweater out to him "I can't get this on, will you help me?" She asks.

"Course I will, Darlin'" he answers, going down onto one knee so he's at her height, as he figures out the sweater and pulls it over her head gently, pulling her long hair out of the back once it's in place, hair that reminds him of her mother, but with the curl that appears in his own in damp weather.

"C'mon, sit on the bed while I get dressed, OK?" He invites her.

"I'm not supposed to go into the bedrooms while I'm here" she tells him looking up at him with those blue eyes.

"Well I think it's OK if I tell you to, whadda ya say?" He asks her.

"You're sure au... Jayda won't mind?" She asks.

"Well if she does she can tell me off, it's my idea ok?" He tells her with one of his lopsided smiles.

"Ok" she answers smiling back at him "daddy"

He takes a silent deep breath at the pain of the word and holds his arms out to her, picking her up and holding her on his hip as he walks into the war zone they'd left in the bedroom when he was last here, setting Sarah down on the bed he gathers up the contents of his bag that had been haphazardly tossed out when he was looking to get dressed last, he finds what he needs and says to Sarah "I'll just be two minutes, don't touch anythin' ok?" As he steps into the bathroom.

Once he's dressed his wound where his stitches have torn again when he changed, put on his clothes and washed his face, he comes back out to find Sarah sat in exactly the same spot he left her in, he gives her a smile and walks over to the handmade wooden box he knows Jayda keeps her jewellery in, a box he made for her for her sixteenth birthday, to find an earring, he knew she'd have some and he hadn't worn one in ages, and he just wanted something of Jayda with him right now, when he opens the box he gets a surprise, whilst yes, it is full of jewellery, right on the top is a small envelope with his name written across it, he picks it up and feels something heavy move inside of it, when he opens the unsealed flap he finds a key with a tag saying 'front door', he thinks that's all that's in the envelope until he goes to put it down and it makes a soft clink against one of her necklaces, so he picks it back up and actually looks inside it this time, and there in the bottom corner is a thin band that he knows isn't silver, so it's either steel or platinum, and he doubts it's steel, as he draws it out he sees the tiny row of pale sapphires, gems that match his eyes perfectly, across one half of the outside, and his mind starts jumping, like someone who has no idea how trying to drive a stick shift, what..., how...., why...., but...., passing through his mind with each jump.

"Eliot?" Sarah says behind him, making him jump in a way Parker has never managed, not even that night when he was gonna sing in the saddlebag saloon, he is that disconnected from his surroundings for those moments, he answers Sarah with "just a minute babygirl" and makes a decision, why have an earring when you can have an engagement ring? And puts the ring on, and it's a perfect fit. "Jay..." he whispers to himself shaking his head gently before closing the box and going to his bag, after a few seconds of rummaging, he draws out a length of leather lacing and uses it to turn the key into a necklace, so no matter what, even if he changes, he'll still have his key for home with him.

"Right c'mon, lets go start the fire ok?" He says to Sarah, who squirms off the bed and trots over to him, "will you carry me? Please?" She begs, and Eliot finds he has no backbone whatsoever when it comes to his daughter begging, god help him! 

"Ok, how you want carryin'?" He asks putting on a hard-done-to look, making her laugh, "the ceiling is too low for on your shoulders" she says, hinting at her intelligence, which she is obviously so used to hiding from the adults around her, she bites her lip while she's thinking, reminding him again of Jayda because he spent their whole childhood trying to break her of the habit, eventually she makes a decision and asks him "will you carry me on your side? Like you did earlier?"

"Course I will, babygirl" he says bending down to pick her up and plant her securely on his hip, "lets get warm?" He asks her, she nods taking a tight grip on his shirt as he starts walking, heading for the staircase.

Once they are in the living room Eliot places Sarah on one of the sofas opposite the fireplace and then goes and kneels in front of the fire, luckily Jayda had left it set ready to be lit, no bothering to arrange everything required, thank goodness! 

Eliot reaches into his pocket looking for his lighter when he realises that it's in the jeans he had on when he was brought back to Diwali's after being shot, great! Now what?

"Sarah, does Jayda have a firelighter anywhere here?" He asks.

"Yes it's on the mantelpiece where I can't reach it" she tells him, pointing to the left hand side of the stone shelf that's about shoulder height on him.

Once he's found it and used it to light the fire, he returns it to it's place on the mantle and patiently waits while the fire takes hold, until he can add some real logs to it, once that's done and he puts the fire guard in place, he comes to sit on the sofa next to Sarah and asks her "do you think Jayda has fixin's for cocoa?" 

"Yes, she always has stuff to make that and s'mores!" Sarah says excitedly, grinning up at him.

"Well I'll tell you what, does she have a home phone here?" He asks.

"Yeah, it's on the wall between the kitchen and the stairs next to the light switch" she tells him.

"Ok well you show me where the stuff for cocoa is and I'll make that while I call your granddaddy and let him know we're safe, alright? And you can go snuggle up on the sofa with your blanket" he tells her.

"Alright!" She says, wiggling forwards to slip off the sofa and grabbing his hand to drag him to the kitchen, once she's shown him where all the cocoa ingredients are she asks quietly "can we have s'mores daddy? Please?"

And yet again he gives in without really trying to fight it "sure we can baby, but just a few ok?" He tells her, smiling gently.

"Yay!" She answers with, before pulling out from a cupboard a huge pack of crackers, a large bar of chocolate and the biggest bag of marshmallows Eliot's ever seen, and he's seen the industrial size bags Parker buys to eat during movie nights, and drags her spoils over to near the hearth.

"Hey! Don't touch anything or get too close! I don't wanna deal with you gettin' burned, alright?" He shouts over to her.

"Alright, I need help anyway, I'm waiting for you." She tells him, sitting quietly against the sofa to wait.

Meanwhile Eliot has milk on to heat and he grabs the phone from the wall, dialling quickly he waits for the other end to pick up.

"Hello?" Comes the answer 

"Diwali? It Eliot, I just wanted to let you know where me and Sarah are and that we're safe." He tells the Shaman.

"You are both safe and well?" He asks voice full of concern.

"Yeah we're fine, we're at Jayda's house at the lake, I'm just gonna make some cocoa and s'mores for Sarah and then I'm gonna have her go to sleep on the sofa, I've lit the fire, got her dressed and she should be plenty warm for the night, unless you want me to bring her back?" He tells Diwali.

"No, I think you staying there is a much better idea right now, your friend Quinn arrived and has taken Parker to start checking locations, Alec is searching for a few things Quinn asked him to look for and is scrubbing your blood out of Jayda's truck while he waits, speaking of which, how is your wound? Did it tear again when you changed?" The older man asks.

"Yeah it tore again, it ain't nothin' I can't deal with though, but we could do with some food bringin', Jayda has no fresh goods in at all and if I'm gonna be stayin' here with Sarah then I need to be able to cook her healthy meals, and havin' a truck would help some too, if that's not too much hassle?" He says.

"Of course it's not, I'll have Alec and Quinn bring you Jayda's truck in the morning, along with fresh food, do you want them to pick it or me? I'll be out to a farmers market at five a.m. So I could get what's fresh from there if you like?" He asks.

"Farmers market sounds great, wish I could come with, but yeah a haul from there would be great, fruit, veg and meat please, plus a gallon of milk, some butter and some bread, eggs too if you can, thanks Diwali" Eliot says.

"You are welcome Eliot" Diwali answers.

"Oh! Two more things before you go" Eliot says turning down the heat under the milk and disappearing around the corner of the wall "Sarah asked me if I'm her real father, we all know how smart she is, and I couldn't lie to her, both because I promised I wouldn't and because she'd smell it on me, so I told her I couldn't talk about it with her because that's what I promised you, but with everything Jared said, and some of the things Ruby said the day before that, and the fact that we smell alike, she's sure in her own mind, what do I tell her?" Eliot asks, looking for guidance and permission.

"How sure is she?" Diwali asks.

"She's insisted on calling me daddy ever since we got here, to be honest it's killing me a little bit every time she does, so do I tell her?" He asks desperate for someone to take the responsibility of this choice from him.

"No, Eliot, if this is going to be done it should be done when Jayda is there to give her side of the story and reasons for her choices, it's not our place to do this, as much as you might wish to, allow her to call you that for now if you wish, but make sure she knows not to once you both leave there, agreed?" Diwali tells him.

"Agreed" Eliot replies, before addressing his last point "Diwali, there's one more thing, when I had Jared pinned he put his arm up to try to push my head back, and I smelled somethin' weird, it was like damp or mold, overlaid with antiseptic, like you get in hospitals, and for just a second as his hand was near my nose I could have sworn I could smell Jayda, at first I wasn't sure, after all where would he get Jayda's scent from? But now I've thought about it I'm sure, however faint it was he had Jayda's scent on him, I hate to say it but we need to consider he might be the one informing them about us"

"This is an important point, I will pass on the details to Quinn, Parker and Alec and see what they come up with, I'll see you soon Eliot, look after Sarah for me and both of you sleep well" Diwali tells him.

"goodnight Diwali, I will" he adds as he hangs up, going back into the kitchen area to finish making the cocoa for him and his little girl.


	14. Promises broken and secrets revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE, THREAT OF RAPE, NON CONSENSUAL SODOMY.
> 
> Eliot finds something that brings home what Jayda sacrificed because he wasn't there. Parker and Quinn start the physical search for where Jayda is being held and Sarah has to make a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE HEED THE TRIGGER WARNING!!
> 
> So, I'm writing chapter nineteen or is it twenty? (I honestly can't remember), but it's turning into a monster so I think it's going to be broken up into two or maybe even four parts, so the final chapter count is likely to be about twenty five (she says....). I have had a really big surprise with an unexpected relationship coming up where I never expected it, and it seems my Quinn muse has a lot more to say than I thought he did (so much for his being a drive by appearance)
> 
> After the wonderful comment I received for the new year I'm going to do a double post, so thank you GUEST that was a message that made me want to post (i'd been putting it off since Christmas, yes I know I'm awful) and continue to write, it's so good knowing someone really enjoys what you're writing.
> 
> HAPPY NEW YEAR to you wherever you are, I hope you all had great holidays and are feeling good about the year to come.

ELIOT 

Eliot decides that rather than sleep on the couches he'll change the bedsheets and they'll both sleep upstairs, so once Sarah is asleep after hot cocoa and too many s'mores (and he's really gonna have to learn to say no to her quickly or he'll be trying to catch a unicorn for her for her next birthday, he thinks to himself) rolling his eyes at himself and his lack of control as he climbs the stairs.

Once he's stripped the bed and dumped the sheets in the laundry hamper he goes in search of clean sheets, after checking all of the cupboards and the oriental cabinet in the bathroom with no joy he comes back into the bedroom, he checks the wardrobe and all of the chests of drawers, one of which was completely empty, Eliot guesses it was meant to be his, but no sheets, so he goes on into the small bathroom, checks the cabinet and cupboard in there and finds only towels and toiletries, so he moves on.

As he comes to the door at the end of the hallway, the one that Jayda had said was the spare room, Eliot wonders why it wasn't a room for the girls, but he figured there must be a reason for it, he pushes the door open and not much light makes it into the room so he looks for a light switch, when he switches it on he's shocked by what he finds, this is no spare room, this is a fully furnished and decorated nursery, there was a traditional swing-rocking crib, matching changing table, chest of drawers, small wardrobe and outsized rocking chair, whose cushions matched the bedding in the crib perfectly, there were bottles, diapers, bibs, burping cloths, tiny hats and mittens, onesies, booties, literally everything you would need for a newborn, in neutral colours, and a beautiful mural on one wall, this was their child's nursery, that had never been used, all because he wasn't here when he should have been.

Eliot sinks to the floor, holding a tiny newborn onesie and knowing he's missed so much, missed out on so much, and he can never get it back, and for just a little while he loses himself in his grief for what was missed, and what was lost, and what he might never have the chance to have again, he sits in this room that is a symbol of everything he ever really wanted and cries, letting out grief and fear and regrets, and feeding his anger, he will kill those who are hurting his Mate, who are taking away their chance to make this room a real nursery, with their child in the crib and Jayda in the rocking chair, while he sings gently to the baby they made together in love.

After a while Eliot realises that he's intruding in a place where he has no right to go, not yet, and returns everything to how he found it, leaving the room and closing the door gently behind him, returning to his quest for bedsheets he wonders where else they might be, there were no storage cupboards on the ground floor so the only other place would be the basement, which means he'll have to ask Sarah and hope she knows, and hope that Jayda didn't lock the doors behind them the other morning.

Coming down the stairs Eliot sees that Sarah is now sat up on the couch with her blanket wrapped around her and up over her head, staring into the flames in the fireplace.

"Sarah? Babygirl? Are you ok? How long have you been awake, darlin'?" He asks her as he comes around to stand in front of her, but once he gets a good look at her face in the firelight he drops to a crouch holding his arms out to her "sweetheart, what's wrong? Why you cryin' babygirl?" He says at the sight of the tear tracks on her face.

"I... I could telł.... smell that you were upset... you we're so unhappy and hurtin'.... and you were cryin', I could hear you cryin' and... and.... you were... were worried about Jayda and you were so mad... and I don't want you to be sad or cryin' or mad because of me! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!... please don't stop lovin' me daddy...." Sarah says hiccuping and gasping all the way through until the last part, that part she said in a whisper a normal human would never be able to hear, and that was enough to completely break Eliot, something inside of him that he never knew was there shattered at those words.

All Eliot could do was say "c'mere bug, come have a cuddle" at which she shuffles forwards into his arms, he picks her up easily, turns and sits in her place on the sofa, he wraps her up the way she had been in her blanket and wraps his arms around her, blanket and all, and leans back against the sofa before pulling her head down gently on his chest before he begins to speak.

"Sarah, do you know where your name comes from?" He asks, she shakes her head against his chest before looking up at his face "well, when you were born, Jayda named you, and she named you Sarah, she called you that because it was my mom's name, my mom died when I was five, everyone thinks she had an accident, but I was there the night she died and I know what happened, my daddy, he beat my mommy to death, I never told anyone but Jay about this but now I'm gonna tell you ok?, you see I get my wolf from my mom's family, they're part of the tribe and we have a lot of Alphas in our family line, you know what that means?" 

He gets another nod from the rapt little girl "and my daddy, he didn't know my mom and her family were werewolves, he knew some of the tribe were but not my mom, not until that night, because that was the first time I Changed, and he hated what I was, he killed my mom because she gave him 'a diseased halfbreed beast' instead of a son, and every time I Changed after that he would beat me with a belt, right up until I was eighteen and joined the army and left, thing is you'd think i'd Change as little as possible right?" 

He gets another nod "wrong, I was out five nights out of seven, sometime more or less but usually about that often, and every time i'd go out Jayda came with me, i'd be a wolf and she'd be a little girl in her pajamas and we'd go runnin' through all the horse pastures or these woods, and I never once regretted going runnin' with Jayda no matter how bad he beat me, because when I was out with her I was free and I was loved, I didn't know it then but I've always been in love with Jay, she was always supposed to be my Mate, and I've been lucky enough to claim her, so now we're together, but we nearly were once before, that time was eight years ago, and do you know what happened?"

Sarah looks up at him with excitement in her eyes "I was born? You're my real daddy and Jayda is my mommy?"

Eliot takes in a deep breath through his nose before answering "yes, I'm your daddy and Jayda is your mommy"

"Didn't you want me? Is that why I live with them?" Sarah asks her eyes filling with tears.

"Babygirl, I didn't know you existed until Jayda came to me to get help getting you back when you were kidnapped, and I didn't know you were my daughter until we were halfway to Parker and Hardison that night, I didn't know until I smelled your scent" he explains.

"Didn't Jayda tell you?" Sarah asks, aghast.

"Not in the way she should've, you remember what she said before I ran forwards to pick you up? 'Yeah, she is'? Well we'd had an argument about me wantin' to know if she was your real mom, she didn't want me to know, most likely because i'd quickly figure out that I was your dad, and that could have been a bit of a problem, because i'd probably be a little bit mad at her at least, and maybe wanna take you back, and you gotta remember we thought you were happy, so she didn't want your life disrupted by me being selfish, so yeah the last thing she said meant you were ours, but it's not the way she should have done it, and when we get her back, me and her are going to have a long talk about it"

Taking a breath he continues, telling a side of the story he wasn't happy about " the thing is, me and Jay we were only together one night, and then she left, without leavin' me her number or takin' mine with her, so when she found out she was havin' a baby she had no way to tell me what was happenin', now the job that me and Jay both do is really dangerous, and sometimes people really wanna hurt us, an' one way of doin' that is to hurt people we love, like what's happenin' now, first to you and now to Jay, so that they can hurt me, and Jay never wanted that to happen to you, so since I wasn't there to support her and she didn't want anythin' bad to ever happen to you she decided that the best thing would be to have you adopted, now Ruby can't have babies because she had cancer when we were all kids, and the treatment meant she couldn't have babies of her own, so since she was adoptin' Jane anyway and you were born on the same day, Jayda decided to let Ruby and Jared adopt you too, so long as she could name you, and she could have named you after her real mom, who died when she was a baby, but instead she named you after my mom, because I'm your daddy."

"Didn't you look for her when she left you?" Sarah asks, thinking what she'd do if someone disappeared that she wanted to keep around.

"I thought about it, but she'd chosen to leave and not give me a way to contact her, I thought that meant that she didn't want me around or in her life, that she regretted spendin' that night with me, or even that she hated me now, and I didn't want to know if she hated me, I was too much of a coward to find out for sure, 'cause i'd finally realised how much I loved her and I wanted her for my Mate, and if I did know for sure then I couldn't tell myself that it was just a misunderstandin' and she'd come find me if she wanted me"

"But maybe she wanted you to come find her?" She asks quietly.

"Well, I figured if that was what she wanted she would have left me a note or somethin', but that's not what's important now, what is important is Jay never, ever didn't want or love you, ok? She wanted you to be safe and happy and loved, and if she'd known what was happenin' she would have taken you away a long time ago, and if i'd known about you I would have been here, I would have been your dad and you would always have been safe, because no matter what, we love you, we always will, and nothin' could ever make us stop" 

"So the important thing for you to decide, is can you forgive us for not being there?, for lettin' such terrible things happen to you?, do you want to stay with Ruby and Jane or come to be with me and Jay? Either way I promise you'll be safe from now on, your grandfather is makin' Jared leave, he'll never be able to hurt you ever again, and me and Jay will still come visit, if you stay with Ruby and Jane, so you'll see us loads anyway, ain't no way I'm missin' anymore of my baby growin' up!" He tells her giving her a squeeze and a chance to really think about what she wants.

"You said Ruby can't have babies?" Sarah asks thoughtfully, receiving a nod in return from Eliot.

"That's right" he tells her.

"Can you and Jayda?" She asks, cutting into the centre of something he and Jayda still needed to talk about properly.

"Maybe, hopefully" he answers, trying to be honest but not sway her decision.

"Then I should stay with Ruby and Jane, I like having a sister, and Ruby is already losing her husband, and she can't have another baby to replace me, you and Jayda can..." she explains, before being interrupted by Eliot.

"No babygirl, no matter what we'll always love you, even if we have loads of babies, none of them will ever replace you, you're our first baby, nothin' will ever, ever change that ok?" He asks.

"Ok,.... I love you too,.... but I think I should stay with my other mom and my sister, they need me more right now" Sarah says, snuggling into his chest "but right now I just want to cuddle with my daddy"

"Ok then bug, but one thing before you go to sleep, where does Jay keep the bedsheets?" He asks confounded.

"In the storage cupboard in the training room downstairs, the one that is in the middle of the far wall, why?" She asks looking up at him from her blanket cocoon on his lap.

"Well me and Jay left the bed in a mess before comin' to get you, so we need clean sheets before going to bed, you don't mind sleeping in the bed with me do you?" He asks her.

"I'd like that, can I bring my blanket?" She begs, and as before Eliot folds immediately.

"Course you can bug, I'll change the sheets and come get you alright? You ok here?" He asks moving her into the corner of the couch from his lap.

"Yeah, I'm ok, come back soon, please" she tells him snuggling into the sofa and closing her eyes.

"Ok" he whispers, getting up and heading down the stairs to the training room.

Once he gets to the doors he gives out a silent prayer before trying the handle, luckily Jayda had left them unlocked, and in he walks, remembering that the light switch is to the right of the door, he works his way along, sweeping his fingers over the wall until he locates it and flicks the switch, the lights come up slowly rather than just flashing on and blinding him, he likes that, he decides, he always knew Jayda had good ideas, then he heads for the door Sarah had told him to look behind and when he opens it, there is a linen closet, some of the items stored here are in plastic boxes, like Sarah and Jane's clothes are stored in upstairs, but he quickly finds a full set of bedsheets, taking them out of the closet and closing the door behind him, he decides that he'd come down and explore the rest of the basement the next day, maybe with Sarah to show him around.

Once he's shut off the lights and climbed the stairs to the bedroom again, he quickly puts the sheets on the bed and picks up his and Jayda's dirty clothes that had been left where they fell, all over the floor, from the night they arrived, and put them into the laundry hamper, he was gonna need to do laundry in the next couple of days, he really hoped one of the rooms off from the training room was a laundry room or he's gonna be screwed.

Now that everything is ready Eliot makes his way back down the stairs, rubbing at the shoulder he was shot in a couple years back, he thinks if his old wounds were starting to ache then there was a storm coming, he just hopes it's rain and not wind, because the bedroom ceiling still seemed too fragile for bad weather.

He comes over to the fire and quietly banks the coals so that it will be safe until it goes out, comes back to the sofa he'd left sarah on and gathers her up into his arms, blanket cocoon and all, and slowly makes his way up the stairs again, he places Sarah in Jayda's side of the bed and pulls the sheets up to her chin, kissing her forehead gently, and was then struck by a new dilemma, he had no pajamas or sweats with him, all he had to sleep in was his boxers, would that be the wrong thing to do? Would it be seen as untoward by people? What else was he meant to do? Sleep in his jeans? In the end, after a lot of pacing across the room, he decides that a tshirt and boxers will do, he's sure other people wear the same around their kids, and if he's got it wrong well people will have to forgive him, he's new to all this dad stuff, with that thought he pulls off his button down shirt and shucks off his jeans, leaving him in some rather tight black boxer briefs and a very tight black wife beater, he shakes his head and shrugs to himself, he's doing the best he can, and then slides into the bed, after a few moments he draws Sarah to him and wraps himself around her protectively before closing his eyes and letting the tiredness from the stress and his healing drag him into a night of wishful dreaming.

JAYDA

When Jayda next hears anything it's the sound of a distant door slamming hard enough to at least rattle windows, and she instantly knows this is going to go badly for her, but she has reached a decision while sat here, thinking of what she already lost and what she could still lose, so she gets onto her knees, sits back on her heels with her legs together, and sits up with her back ramrod straight, holding her head up as if she had on that hated posture collar, and waits, breathing deeply to try to stay calm.

She hears the big reinforced door to the room she's in swing open and her breath hitches just for a second, then starts again with the sound of the first footfall coming towards her.

The footsteps stop just outside the circle of light surrounding her, then begin to pace around the edge, rather than follow the steps Jayda sits still, holding her position showing her inner strength in her bearing.

Eventually the steps stop behind her, in her blind spot, while he can't see she fiddles with the ends of a small lock of hair that is trailing down her front, betraying her nervousness about what's coming.

"So, you think you're something special? Sitting up like you're proud of yourself! You need to be shown how low you are! I've been too kind to you, well that's gonna change, starting NOW!" He screams into her ear, making her head ring in a way it's never done before, then he grabs a handful of her hair at about mid spine, using it to pulł her head back further, before planting his boot smack between her shoulders, and kicking her down so that she's on her knees and elbows, she starts trying to get her hands under her, even though the left couldn't take her weight anyway, but when he notices he kicks her hard in the hip with his steel toed boot telling her "stay down, you try that again and I'll break the other wrist" at which Jayda leans back down onto her elbows, hating being in this exposing position.

She starts to really panic when she hears his belt being undone, this could only mean one of two things, he was going to beat her with it, which on her red-raw skin would be a whole new world of agony she'd never experienced before, or he was going to rape her, even after all of his protestations that she was too dirty, filthy, diseased etc. 

She honestly wasn't sure what would be the worse fate, so she just closes her eyes, lays her head against the concrete floor, and prays for Eliot to watch over their potential child, she thinks of Eliot and being with him to take her out of herself, so she doesn't have to suffer whatever is about to happen.

Then she feels him right behind her, he twists her hair around his fist, making sure she can't move and pushes her shoulders down, she shudders, knowing what this means, but she's completely unprepared for what happens.

She feels him up against her, the feeling of his cold belt buckle against her thigh and then there is burning hot pain lancing up her spine, she'd been partially right, he was raping her, but not in the way she expected, he pushes forwards harder, trying to force himself into her and she knows he is hardly started, not even the whole head of his cock inside her yet and she already feels like she is being ripped open so badly she wants to die.

He's growling insults at her, telling her all the bad things he thinks she is, then he pulls back a little and spits on her, she assumes as some sort of attempt at lubrication, and pushes harder against her, forcing himself in enough that the head of his cock pops through the tight ring of protecting muscle, and she feels herself tear, it's a white hot lightening bolt shooting through the agony of the rape, pain on more pain.

And she doesn't want to be in her head, she wants to be away, with Eliot, remembering their first night together, how passionately but gently he'd taken her for the first time, there had been no pain that time, just the pleasure and joy of being with the one man in the world she loved and thought was worthy to have her, she wanted to be there again, not here with Eliot's killer forcing himself on her, it wasn't fair! Was this punishment for not keeping Sarah, or not telling Eliot about her earlier? Was that why everything was being taken from her?

"Did you hear me Bitch? I said you're gonna pay for every drop of blood that wolf took from me!" He yells at her, confusing her, what wolf? Eliot was gone, who would do that? And how did they know who he was?, if they knew he was the one holding her where were they? Why was she going through this? Why was the rescue not here yet? Her mind is yanked away from these questions by a hard, even more brutal thrust, ramming the intruding cock all the way into her, making her scream out loudly and causing her to feel another tear occur, then he starts actually fucking in and out of her, within a few moments he's sliding smoothly with no dry friction at all, the blood is seeing to that, and now she's started to scream she can't stop, this is agony, she's never even been touched there, it wasn't something Eliot had shown any interest in, maybe he would have given time, but until now she'd been untouched, and she doubted this was anything she would ever willingly consent to, not now, not even if she could have Eliot back to do it with, this was just too much for her to ever get past.

"Do you know what I'm gonna do to you next?" He asks her, thrusting into her harshly, making sure he hurts her as much as possible.

"Once I'm done, I'm gonna have the men come in, I think there's eleven out there right now, and I'm gonna have them fuck you as many at the same time as they can manage, in every hole, and if you choke, I don't care, if you tear, I don't care, you miscarry, I'll fucking well laugh, I'm gonna make sure that no one would ever want you again, even if you do survive, which is doubtful" he tells her making her cry and shake her head energetically even as she screams louder.

After a few minutes of screaming Jayda just suddenly stops and goes limp, he has her by the hip with one hand and the hair the other, and she just stops fighting, he doesn't seem to like that and hits her hard in the back of the head, making her shout out but not resume screaming, he huffs and then speeds up his thrusts, still going harshly at her and hurting her but obviously looking to finish quickly, his hand suddenly squeezes excruciatingly on her hip, his nails cutting into her and making her yelp and then she feels him fill her, and it feels vile and disgusting to her, nothing like being with Eliot, thankfully, she couldn't bare to have this in any way remind her of being with him, those memories were to be kept pristine, her perfect moments in time with the man she loves.

He pulls out with a trickle of blood and semen down her inner thigh, then drops her hair, and what she would give for just five minutes in a bathroom, but for now she'll do what she can, she crawls as far away from him as the chain allows, wanting to sit in her crossed ankle, knee cuddling position, but she doesn't think she can bare the pain of trying to sit on her violated ass, on a concrete floor, at the moment, so she curls up into the foetal position and drapes her hair over herself instead.

"No! I'm not having you use that to hide behind and take comfort in! I bet the mutt liked your hair didn't he? Well that's such a shame, if he liked it so much it can go into his casket with him!" He snarls angrily at his prisoner.

"No! Please not my hair! I didn't grow it for Eliot or even for myself, it is a symbol of the weight I carry for giving up my daughter for adoption, I've never cut it since the day I found out I was pregnant, please, please don't touch it!" She begs, getting on her knees and grovelling in front of him.

He leaves the light again and she hears him going through a box by the sound of it, it sounds so loud she wonders what the hell was stored in it!

"Keep still!" He orders, walking around behind her, outside of the circle of light, before stepping forward and grabbing her hair at mid spine again and pulling it out backwards behind her, she closes her eyes knowing she can't talk him out of this and then she feels the tension on her scalp lessen as he cuts through her hair.

Once he's done she leans over, puts her face in her hands and cries, he steps around her, close enough she can see those steel toe caps through her fingers and tells her "you should be thanking me! I only cut it to below your shoulders, I could have cut it to your neck or even your scalp, be fucking grateful I'm being so kind, you are in mourning after all" she's still staring at the toes of his boots through her tears and fingers when she suddenly realises, he's in the light and she's facing him! She can see who he is! With that thought she throws her head back and looks at the face of her abuser.

QUINN

"How many more within the first search radius?" Quinn asks Parker while he starts the truck they were loaned by Diwali and turns around in the parking lot of the eighth abandoned warehouse they'd checked.

"That was the last, we could start the next, but it's been a long day for all of us and you must be starving, do you wanna call it a night and we'll start the next ring in the morning?" She answers him distractedly, while doing something with her phone.

"Tell you what, what time is it? If it's after midnight we'll call it a night, it's hard to check these places properly in the dark anyway and I'm pretty sure this rain isn't gonna stop anytime soon" he says.

"It's 01.26am" she tells him "and it's not that hard to see in the dark..." she informs him.

"Yes well, not everybody spends all their time in air ducts and elevator shafts, and therefore don't have extra sensitive night vision, most people, like me for example, do their activities in the light so they have never needed super night vision like you" he snarks at her gently.

"So it's like my superpower?" She asks excitedly bouncing in her seat.

"Yes Parker, it's your superpower, god knows I've heard of much lamer ones" he tells her, receiving a huge grin in return, one that he can't stop himself answering with a small smile of his own 'now I get why Eliot stays with these guys, they get under your skin and FORCE you to like them, as weird as they are...' he thinks to himself with a little shake of his head.

"How long should it take us to get to the shaman's house?" He asks, not having any idea of the area's layout. 

"About twenty minutes, maybe thirty with the rain, do you know how to get there?" Parker replies, still fiddling with her phone.

"Yeah I've got the sat nav I'm fine why?" Quinn asks.

"Just thought i'd have a little nap if that's ok?" She tells him.

"Yeah no problem" he answers her, when he quickly looks over at her he's amazed to find she's already asleep, that quick! God this girl was weird but she was definitely growing on him, he shakes his head to himself again and then goes back to concentrating on the driving, the last thing they needed was an accident caused by the rain that seemed to be becoming a storm.

When they arrive back at Diwali's house Quinn's only just put the parking break on when Parker is fully awake, out of her seat and halfway to the house, he just sits there staring in amazement, how did she wake up, undo her seatbelt and get out so bloody quick? He was never going to get used to this family of broken toys, but he just couldn't help liking them! 

He turns off the engine and pulls the keys, by now Parker is at the kitchen door they left through earlier, gesticulating at him to hurry up and come inside out of the rain, or at least that's what he thinks she means, so he climbs out of the truck, locks it up with the key fob and runs up the pathway to the house before following her into the kitchen, where the huge table is laid out with food and Parker is grinning at him while wrestling his jacket off of him to hang by the door, as he rolls his shirt sleeves up Hardison comes in, smiling at Quinn before going to Parker and giving her a big smooching kiss.

"Alec! Not in front of people!" She admonishes him quietly before giving him a little peck on the lips.

"Hey don't mind me! You guys can smooch all you want just don't ask me to spectate" Quinn says holding his hands up in the universal gesture for 'peace'

"No! Both of you stop it! Diwali's been kind enough to cook all this food for us, he told me we can have whatever we want, it's all fine, to be honest I think he stress cooks like Eliot does, but either way you guys help yourselves!" Parker tells them.

"When did he tell you that mamma?" Hardison asks her.

"When he texted me before he went to bed, he's going to a farmers market really early in the morning, that's why he didn't wait up for us to come in, but he said eat whatever we want and whatever is left he'll take to Eliot and Sarah in the morning" she answers.

"He knows where Eliot and the kid went?" Quinn asks "when did he find out?"

"Eliot called him, told him where they were and asked for supplies, if I was Eliot i'd go where I know there's no one else, i'd guess... Jayda's house" she says with a shrug "but can we get on with the food? I'm hungry but I need to use the little girls room first, oh! and Diwali said we should sleep in the spare room and asked if Quinn had any problem sleeping in the room Eliot had been in, Jayda's old room?"

"Fine by me, lets eat" Quinn says going over to the sink to wash his hands before diving into the feast laid out on the table.

"Ok!" Says Parker as she bounces off down the hallway silently to the bathroom.

"So no luck then?" Hardison asks as he and Quinn start to choose what they want and serve it onto plates that had been laid out for them.

"No, it was really hard to see much of anything in the dark but they all seem to still be abandoned, what about you? Anything on those new searches?" Quinn replies.

"Two of the 'Moreau' buildings have had a sudden spike in power usage, starting on different days but within the time limit you specified, I might have a lead on a couple of 'bulky' guys who've been seen around town, in the morning I'll do a facial recognition search of all local cctv and search out their either criminal records or service records, I'm pretty sure it'll be one or the other, I checked up and haven't been able to find any link between Damien Moreau and Jared White Hawk, so I don't see how he could have access to Moreau's money, while his recent behaviour would make sense if it were him doing this, I can't find any sign or link to suggest it, and believe me I LOOKED." Hardison tells him bringing him up to speed.

"Have you tried hacking the GPS on the rented van? See where it goes?" Quinn asks.

"Oh fuck! I knew there was something I was forgetting! I got so caught up in trying to keep up with the trace on our GPS locators that I forgot about the one on the van! I'll go check now..." Hardison says in a panic.

"Wait! Hardison, it can wait until morning, you need to eat and sleep, it's probably lack of both that made you overlook it, so just settle down eat your food slowly and then go to bed with Parker, it'll do you more good that you know" Quinn says calmly.

"But.." Hardison starts.

"No, no buts, no more electronics until the morning ok? For your own good" he tells him, before saying "I think I'll eat in bed, you two should follow my example, alright?"

"Alright, 'night man" Hardison says just as Parker gets back.

"Goodnight both of you, sleep well" Quinn says before disappearing into the room allocated to him.

"You ok?" Parker asks looking at Hardison.

"Yeah, mamma, pick what you wanna eat and lets go eat in bed, whadda ya say?" He replies, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Sounds like a plan" she says, smiling down at him where he's sat on one of the dining chairs, so she picks out a heaped plateful of food, which were mostly sweets, and allowed Hardison to lead her to bed in the spare room they'd been given, they were both deeply asleep by the time the first flash of lightening lit the sky.


	15. Questioning children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot has a bad day for bruises, Quinn talks to Sarah, after learning how careful he needs to be around the weres, Jayda is hurt further and Eliot is faced with the choice of whether to pick up a gun again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the second post of the day you all have the wonderful GUEST who left me a lovely message to thank for this!
> 
> The name snugabug comes from my husband, it's what he's always called me, because my disability makes me very susceptible to the cold, I'm always wrapped up in blankets, he says it makes me look snug-as-bug-in-rug, which became shortened to snugabug, I decided this is the kind of thing he might call his daughter (Eliot being a soft cutie inside, we all know he is), I just thought i'd share the provenance of the name with you all.
> 
> Other than that there isn't really anything to say that I didn't say in the last chapter's notes, so let's get on to the story!

ELIOT

Eliot is woken sometime before dawn by prolonged multiple flashes of lightening that makes the room appear to strobe in and out in his vision, that's almost overlapped by a clap of thunder so loud the bed seems to shake,

Almost instantly there is another set of flashes followed by another enormous roll of thunder, letting him know that this was one hell of a storm and it was right over them.

On the next roll of thunder he notices that Sarah is whimpering and crying in her sleep, flinching with every crack of thunder, and as he bundles her up onto his lap where he's now sitting up, he can't help but wonder why is she so terrified of storms?

After a few minutes of feeling his daughter flinch and cry out at every flash and rumble, he decides they should go down stairs and sit back in front of the fire, there was a chance that the lower level might be slightly more soundproofed than the bedroom, and at least if she wakes up downstairs then she won't be able to see the storm right above her.

Eliot shuffles to the side of the bed and slides his feet out and onto the floor, taking a firm grip on Sarah because of his shoulder aching he pushes up to stand, and his leg that was shot on the same day as his shoulder just collapses out from under him and he's falling with Sarah in his arms, with a quick twist of his spine they land with Eliot mostly on his back, but partly on his aching (now screaming) shoulder and Sarah on his chest, the sound and force of them landing and all the air being forced out of his chest in a huge whoosh, echoed by a huge peal of thunder, wakes Sarah up.

"Daddy? Why are we on the floor?" She asks sounding confused, right before a huge flash of lightening, that has her burrowing into his chest and whimpering again, he's instantly aware that this is not a normal reaction for a little girl to have to lightening and thunder, and that when he hears this story he's gonna be so mad.

"Well bug" he wheezes out "I could see you didn't like the sounds of the storm, so I was goin' to take you downstairs so it would bother you less, cuddle up in front of the fire again and sleep down there, if that would help" he explains to her.

"Then why are we on the floor?" She asks as he sits her up.

"Well a couple of years back a very bad man was trying to hurt a lot of people, and me and Parker and Hardison stopped him, but while we were stoppin' him he shot me twice, just with normal bullets, but they left damage anyway" he tells her, explaining the job they'd done in Washington for Vance.

"Where did he shoot you?" She asks, enthralled by his story.

"Well first he shot me in the shoulder, here..." he points out the scars on his shoulder "and then he shot me in the leg here..." he says showing her the scarring on the front of his thigh "and when it rains they both ache, but I knew I had to be careful liftin' you because my shoulder was hurtin', so I made sure I had a good tight grip on you, and I completely forgot about my leg because it wasn't hurtin', then when I stood up my leg collapsed and I fell, but I managed to turn enough so that you landed on top of me not under me so you wouldn't be hurt, you're not hurt are you?" He asks suddenly worried.

"I'm fine daddy, you saved me, but can we go downstairs now?" She asks quietly, shivering at another roll of thunder.

"Sure can bug, can you get up?" She nods against him before pushing herself up and into a standing position, without putting any weight onto anywhere that would hurt him, she reaches out and grabs his hand and pulls him into a sitting position, from which he scrambles up onto his feet, testing his leg carefully he asks Sarah "you ok to walk down the stairs on your own?"

"Course I am! Should I just go down or do you need help?" She asks considerately.

"I'm fine you go down and then wrap yourself up in your blanket on the sofa until I get there, alright bug?" He tells her.

"Okay daddy!" She chirps and heads for the stairs, the blanket trailing behind her.

"And be careful of the blanket going down the stairs!" He yells out after her, he gets no reply so he hopes she heard him over the near continuous thunder.

Eliot knows he should put something else on over his underwear, but he really doesn't want to put his jeans on, he's just wondering what to do about it when he remembers Jayda saying to him about robes in the cabinet in the bathroom, perfect! He'll wear one of those! So he heads into the bathroom limping on his bad leg but getting there quickly, when he opens the cabinet and looks where she told him he finds two black, super soft, fluffy, terrycloth robes, each with a different letter embroidered on it's lapel, one with an ornate capital J and the other with an ornate capital E, they'd been specially made for them! He takes the one obviously meant for him and puts it on, it is of course a perfect fit, how had she known what size to get?

Now that he was sort of dressed and feels just a little more decent, he goes to the staircase and works his way down carefully, using the bannister and taking his time so that his knee doesn't spill him down the staircase.

Once he's down on the ground level he comes over to the fire place and stirs up the coals until he can add more wood and get the fire really going again, once that's done he turns to the couch and smiles at Sarah.

"So what do you want to do, bug?" He asks her, having no idea how to entertain a seven year old girl when stuck indoors.

"Can I draw?" She asks him.

"Do you have any drawing stuff here, bug?" He asks looking around.

"It's in a box under the table" she tells him pointing at the dining table/desk near the kitchen, so he goes over to the table and pulls out a huge plastic storage box from underneath that seemed to be full to the brim of art and craft materials, he shrugs and drags it over to their little camp by the fire and lets Sarah dive into it, she seems to know what she is looking for and is quite happy, and he's noticed something between two of the bookcases, something he's sure Jayda must have bought for him, because despite so many lessons from him she'd just never been able to manage to learn to play the guitar, and this one was beautiful, a work of art, and just what he needed right now, to distract Sarah from the sounds of the storm, so Eliot goes over and picks the beautiful ebony guitar up from its stand, brings it back to the sofa where Sarah is sat cross legged, getting ready to start drawing, and sits cross legged on the opposite end facing her, so they mirror each other, and starts to play, starting with the song he became well known for, for a short time a few years ago, when he was being 'Kenneth Crane' to get a sleazy record exec sent down, the song 'thinking of you'.

And Sarah sits, pencil forgotten in her lap, as she stares both shocked and mesmerised at this man, her daddy, with such a wonderful voice, how did a man that growled so much sing so beautifully? Once that song is finished he smiles at Sarah and shuffles in his seat, snuggling down into his bathrobe just a little to get more comfy, he continues to sing and play quietly, while Sarah goes back to her drawing, which seems to be something rather out of the league of a normal seven year old.

"What you drawin' there bug?" He asks her after a while.

"A picture for you daddy, but it's not ready yet" she tells him with authority.

"Ok bug, whenever you're ready is fine" he tells her smiling gently at her while his fingers carry on playing the guitar without him even noticing.

JAYDA

Jayda couldn't believe it, this couldn't be happening, that this was the mastermind behind Eliot's death and her torture?!

She kneels there, leaning forwards again, her arms wrapped around her middle because of the pain burning in her lower belly and backside, stupidly thankful that her hair is still long enough to hide her face behind, and she hears him walk to the door laughing and chuckling at the look of horror on her face when she saw his, "time for fun for my friends! I'm sure you're warmed up enough by my starting you off that no lube will be needed, and if it is I'm sure the blood will do the trick" he says threateningly as he closes the door behind himself with a clang.

As she kneels there shaking, with tears running down her face, Jayda starts to feel all the pain, grief, hatred and betrayal turn into anger, anger so fierce it burns inside her like a sun going supernova, this time when she starts to growl she hears it, as her teeth start to lengthen she feels the sensation, and although it's not something she can feel, her eyes fade out to light blue, with a tiny fine gold ring right around the outside edge, she also realises then, that she can smell the salt in his leavings, God she wishes she could wash it off, and finally it comes to her that if she concentrates she can hear him talking to his men, telling them what he wants them to do to her, and she suddenly feels physically sick at hearing the things he's describing, before finally losing control and vomiting up what little water she's had to drink in the last twenty four hours along with quite a large amount of bile, choking and gagging at the taste that she can do nothing about, as she's out of water, so she can't rinse her mouth out.

With the vomiting and gagging her anger turns back into tears, reversing all the effects she had been experiencing except for the stronger senses of smell and hearing, which seem to be permanent, now Jayda's not stupid, she knows what she's showing signs of, but she also knows that's impossible, you can't catch being a werewolf from being bitten, both she and Eliot had been taught that by her father when they were barely older than toddlers, they'd even tried it anyway when they were about ten, Eliot bit her hard, with his teeth extended, to see if she would Change and be like him, so they could run off and live as wolves together, so he never had to go back to his father's house and be beaten again, but it didn't work, so there was no way she was showing signs of becoming a werewolf now, she must be hallucinating these things, it's the only thing she could think of, maybe her water had been drugged and that was what had been causing these weird feelings?

Suddenly she hears the door to the room unlock, and she should be terrified, she's thrown up all over the floor, there is a steadily expanding pool of blood underneath her, and she thinks she just heard the plans for what was going to happen to her next, but instead, she's tasting s'mores, feeling warm and cosy and safe while a storm rages around the place that she's sitting, she can actually hear the thunder, but she knows the rest isn't real, it must be a hallucination her mind created for her to hide in, feeling safe and warm like she only ever does in Eliot's arms, the thunder and lightening not bothering her because he's singing to her quietly, letting her know she is loved.

She's so deep into the fantasy that she doesn't hear the shouting that is aimed at her, is in fact completely unaware of it until she's snapped back to the immediate danger by a very strong, vicious, punch to the side of the jaw and cheekbone, the fist being that large it easily covers that whole side of her face from eye to jawline.

"Get up you filthy Cunt! How dare you make this kind of mess? It's not like we didn't give you a drain to use for such things! No this will never do, you'll have to be showered then scrubbed to come anywhere close to being clean enough for anyone to come near you, so cleaning it is!" He screams at her, his bull-necked henchman actually helping her back up into a kneeling position after being the one who punched her so hard she fell over, looking concerned for her as if he wasn't the one who's been performing most of the abuse on her, and then she remembers his hatred of rape and the obviousness of her injuries, the puddle of blood below her and the fact she can't stop herself from hugging her own middle tightly, Eliot would be so mad if he saw her doing this, he hated to see her hugging herself like she was scared or alone, although right now she thinks she'd have a good argument in her favour for why she's doing it.

When she realises he said shower she almost laughs with joy, if they were going to take her to a shower then there was a good chance they'd be unhooking the chain from her wrist, which means she'll have a chance to escape! She's so happy she doesn't consider any other way that they might wash her down, so when bull-neck tells her to stand up she does, standing with her legs together and her hands clasped in front of her crotch, not even trying to cover her breasts as she's fairly sure she'd be punished for that.

Once she's stood she's turned so that her back is to the spike and drain, she feels bull-neck move away behind her, but before she gets a chance to ask, she's hit forcefully between the shoulders by a high pressure stream of icy cold water, it hits her so strongly she staggers, yanking on her injured wrist, and making the bruise forming on her back from being kicked between the shoulders earlier scream with pain, the high pressure of the water, combined with its temperature, makes it feel like she's being stabbed by thousands of tiny ice lances all at once, which is agonising on her scrubbed raw skin, the stream of water is played up and down her body, obviously meaning to provoke her into washing herself, and when she thinks of the blood dripping from her torn ass, mixed with his leavings, running down her thighs, she suddenly feels a horrific urge to scrub herself with the floor brush that was used on her, to get all sign of him off her skin, damn to even remove all of the skin altogether, hell she'd even use The Implement on her own ass to get any sign of him out of her insides, she is that desperate to be clean.

She scrubs at her thighs with her fisted hand where his semen has dripped down on to them, she actually bends forwards slightly, so that she could clean her ass and between her legs while the water streamed down over these parts of herself, biting her lip to muffle her shouts while she does, but with tears pouring from her eyes at the pain, as the water moves away from her body she becomes aware that she's being spoken to "uncover the drain, Bitch" so she scrambles to do it, lifting the lid and stepping back to watch as her vomit and most of the pool of her blood is washed away and down the drain by the stream of water before it's turned off.

As she is stood there hunched over, with her hair dripping around her, shivering violently, with her teeth chattering loudly and so hard it makes the bruised side of her jaw shoot with agony every time her teeth meet, she hears his voice again, "leave her like that, nowhere dry to sit or lay and freezing cold, that'll teach her not to make a mess, see Bitch? See how kind I'm being to you? I'm not having you scrubbed or fucked tonight, see how lucky you are? But don't worry, after earlier I know how desperate your body is for a nice big cock, and you'll get all the cock you can handle and more tomorrow, the boys can't wait!" He tells her making her shudder even more, to bull-neck he says "give her water and something to clean up any other blood that might escape tonight, I don't want her putting the boys off tomorrow, don't be long, alright?"

"Yes sir" he answers making her shudder again, but hope that maybe there would be extra water to drink again!

Once the boss had left and the door was closed behind him, bull-neck comes into the light with a bottle that doesn't contain water, and a towel, "here, use this to get as dry as possible" he says holding out the towel to her, she looks distrustfully from his face to the towel and back again before reaching over to snatch it from him, quickly using it to dry her back and shoulders before moving down to her legs as he says "I don't know if you like Coke or not but I brought you some to drink while I'm here, it'll give you a sugar boost and a little caffeine that might be helpful since he hasn't fed you yet, also some glucose tablets and an extra two bottles of water, I know it's not much but it's the best I can do for now, I'm gonna try to get him to allow a blanket as it's getting too cold down here for you to be naked, you're going to go into hypothermic shock if he's not careful, and then he'll never get his answers and his revenge" as he talks he hands her the bottle of cola once she's wrapped the towel around her waist to try to warm up, once he's finished she asks him "did you get the message to my family?"

"I tried, I left it at your sisters house, thinking i'd stand less chance of being seen, but when I saw who came out to check the mail I knew i'd made the wrong choice, I was nearly caught and the message didn't get to your family, I've already decided to try again, but I haven't had a chance yet, in the morning I'll leave a note for your father, I promise, with the name of your captor and this address included, oh and I'm sorry about the punch but if i'd pulled it he'd have known" he answers her.

"What's your name?" She asks, wanting to call him something other than bull-neck in her head.

"Eric, I won't tell you the rest because the last thing I need is Jayda Red Cloud and Eliot's Spencer's team and friends coming after me when this is all over, I know both your reps and I don't wanna be hunted down for what I've been a part of and have allowed to happen here" he says apologetically.

"Eric, no matter what, so long as I'm around none of those people will ever want to cause you harm, so long as you keep helpin' me" Jayda reassures him. "Here let me dry the floor as best I can with this towel and you can get goin' before he gets suspicious" she says, handing him the empty Coke bottle, then crouching to rub the towel over the floor, drying it as much as possible, while she does that he brings her three bottles of water, two larger than the other, obviously the ones he brought, and puts them on the floor next to the spike, he takes the towel from her when she's done and then hands her a pack of glucose tablets, the kind with a paper wrapper so she can just drop it down the drain when she's done with them, once everything is packed away he gets ready to leave her for the night.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you, and I'm sorry about your hair, it was beautiful, you don't deserve any of this, and if I should get the chance I will get you out of here, I promise" he tells her.

"Thank you, I do appreciate what you're doin' for me, but in the future maybe don't take these kind of jobs, if you can help it? She asks.

"I'll try not to" he promises "goodnight"

"Goodnight, Eric"

QUINN

Quinn is awoken by the sound of the kitchen door closing gently, since it's fully light, as dim as the light is with the rain and clouds, he assumes it's Diwali coming back from the farmers market, which means it was time to get up and get started on the day, pack the provisions into Jayda's truck, and then take the truck to Eliot, while being followed by one of the others in Diwali's truck, so that he could then continue searching locations, they did eight in eight hours yesterday and they had another twenty two to go, he was tired just thinking about it.

Once he's washed and dressed, Quinn leaves the bedroom and walks into the kitchen, there seems to have been an explosion of fresh fruit and vegetables over every surface in the kitchen (and there were a LOT of surfaces in this kitchen) and Quinn was just a little overwhelmed by all this food, not to mention the thought of how much he knew Eliot would love this.

"Diwali?" He calls not able to see over everything that's stacked on the counter.

"Yes?" The old man answers standing up from where he'd been crouched in front of a cupboard trying to pull out a huge stockpot.

"Do you need help with anything?" Quinn offers, looking around a little lostly.

"No my boy, but would you like some coffee?" He asks.

"That would be wonderful, sir" he answers, feeling the cold of the storm in his bones.

Once he's been handed a large mug of coffee Quinn's curiosity gets the better of him "what are you making sir? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh I don't mind, it's nice when people take an interest in what is going on around them, I'm making lots of things, but the main item is rabbit stew, it's an ancient family recipe that has been handed down for many, many generations, I've never met anyone who tried it who didn't like it" the Shaman boasts.

"Well good luck trying to get Parker and Hardison to try it, I'm sure at least one of them if not both will associate it with cute little bunnies and thumper, so please be gentle when you tell them, they can be so innocent about some things" Quinn says protectively.

"You speak of them in much the same way Eliot does, are you a usual member of this team?" The old man asks.

"Not really, sometimes when they need an extra pair of hands, or Eliot needs backup they'll ask if I'm available, and I've gotten to know them all better over the last year, but I'm not a member of the team, that's just the three of them now" Quinn tells him.

"Just the three of them now? There were more of them before?" Diwali encourages Quinn to continue.

"Yeah they were originally a group of five, but Nate, their old mastermind, and Sophie, their grifter, retired and got married leaving just Eliot, Parker and Hardison, but they've still got all the angles covered, it's just sometimes you need more than three people to pull the plan off, that's where I come in, and the more time I spend with them, the more I like them, even despite myself, they're getting under my skin and I'm actually happy about it." He confesses.

"I'm glad that they have people they can ask to help them, especially Eliot, I'm the one who undressed him when he was brought here injured, I'm a doctor, and looking at the scars and signs of untreated injuries on him I was very worried, I know the job he does is dangerous but he seems to have had no care for his own safety at all, there were eight separate gunshot wounds not including the one he received that night, over twenty deep cut or stab wounds, his shoulder has been so badly dislocated so many times it's caused permanent damage, he has three incorrectly healed ribs and by the feel of it the bottom six on both sides have been broken many times, his hip has been dislocated, as have both his kneecaps, he has a patch of what I can only describe as shrapnel damage down his left thigh, there are severe burn scars on his backside and even after all this time there are still scars from the whippings his father used to give him when he was a child all down his back, and this is on a person with advanced healing, who should hardly ever scar, so I know what he has been putting his body through for the last twenty years, I am not telling you I would want you to do it to yourself in his place, just that I'm glad he doesn't have to bare this burden alone, especially now he is with Jayda, she'd be devastated if anything ever happened to him." The Shaman finishes with a deep sigh.

"I... I never.... never realised it was that bad, I mean I've seen him walk away from a gunshot wound like it was just a kick in the shins, and it's almost impossible to get him into a hospital, he's gotta be at death's door before you can manage that, although he will let EMT's look at him if there's some around after he's been injured, but he also never takes any pain medication he's given, says that he has to be both awake and alert all the time, but for most everything Eliot is his own doctor, he once joked that no real doctor would ever put up with him as a patient as his attitude was that bad, and the way he can be after being injured, I wouldn't be surprised if it was true." Quinn finishes with a little smirk.

"That sounds like Eliot, he always did have a high pain threshold because of his daddy's beatin's" Diwali sighs out

"sounds like a real nice guy" Quinn replies.

"He beat Eliot's mother to death when he found out Eliot was a werewolf, staged it as an accident, and his high school buddy the sheriff looked the other way, Eliot saw it all, and I believe he always blamed himself for it, since it was triggered by his first change, I don't think he really remembers a lot of that night after her death, doesn't remember being brought here and put to bed with Jayda, when I checked on them they were wrapped around each other in such a way that if they'd been just a few years older I would have had my worries about, but at the time it was just so obvious they were both trying to protect the other, most likely from Eliot's father in both cases, when he came the next morning and dragged Eliot back home, he made sure I knew that if I brought any trouble to him 'over what lies the little bastard had told' it would be Eliot who suffered, he made sure no one would go against him with that threat, after all, he just got away with beating his wife to death, so why risk the same happening to the son?" Diwali tells him

"You know I'm kinda glad he's dead, as much as the news hurt Eliot when he found out, I think it's better for him to never have to face that again" Quinn says thoughtfully.

"Hey!" Says Parker as she wanders into the kitchen, making Quinn jump and causing Diwali to smile amusedly "wow! It looks like a piñata full of fruit and vegetables exploded in here! Such bright colours..." she says, running her fingertips over various items of produce, all with different textures and colours, like she was experiencing them fully through all of her senses, a really unusual thing for most people to do, but so very _Parker_.

"Hey, you ready to come see Eliot before we go out searching locations again?" Quinn asks the thief, who has sat on a free space on the dining table.

"Yeah, I've missed him, you're not as funny as him, and I wanna see this great house Jayda had built, check how secure it is for them." She tells him swinging her feet "do you wanna wait for Alec before we go?"

"Was he awake when you got up?" He asks.

"Sort of, but he's probably gone back to sleep by now" she answers unconcernedly.

"Right I'll leave him a note and then we can get on with it, alright?" He proposes.

"Fine by me" she says wandering back over to the counter, raising her eyebrows at Diwali while she picks up one of the thin young carrots from the stack, asking silently for permission to eat it, which is granted with an equally silent tilt of the head, making Parker smile and skip over to the sink to wash her snack, before chewing on it bugs bunny style making Quinn smirk and suppress a laugh.

"Diwali do you have some paper I could use to leave Alec a note, please?" Quinn asks politely.

"In my desk in the living room, centre drawer, please help yourself" he answers, taking some onions over to where he has a chopping board set up.

Quinn goes through to the living room, finds the paper easily and then sits down to write Hardison the note.

_Alec,_ _  
Parker and I have gone to see Eliot and Sarah, and take them food and other essentials, once we're done there we are going to continue in our search pattern._

_I wanted to remind you about tracking the GPS locator that's on the hired van, like we discussed last night, also can you text us the addresses of the locations using more power and we'll check them out once we've done the search area for today._

_And finalły let us know if you have any joy tracing the 'bulky' guys whereabouts, because we can always go to check up on that on our way back tonight._

_Look after yourself friend, we'll see you tonight._

_Quinn._

He leaves the note wedged inside the closed laptop knowing Alec will see it there and heads back out to the kitchen to pull his boots on, Parker is already bundled up, wearing a warm looking jacket, gloves and scarf, all she was missing was earmuffs to make her look totally adorable.... wait! What?

He needs time away from these guys as soon as this job finishes he decides, he can't let himself be surprised by thoughts like that! He thinks to himself, shaking his head to clear it, it's not like he's attracted to Parker, she's pretty and all but he's not interested, so where the hell had that come from?

"Ready?" He asks her.

"Yep! Diwali has set up the directions to the house on your sat nav so I guess you're leading" she says with a grin, tossing the keys for Jayda's truck to him.

"Lets move then" he tells her as he leads out of the door.

Once they've both gotten their trucks started and on the road, Quinn suddenly realises that he misses Parker's companionship and general harassment, it's really annoying when you're driving, but you miss it when you're driving alone, he really needs to stop spending so much time with these guys, he tells himself, they're drawing him into their little domestic group and it's driving him mad!

By the time he finishes ranting at himself, silently in his own head, he's pulling up in front of a house that seems to only be part there, like the forest is taking it back or something, it's rather surreal, but he likes it, because it's not ruining the look of the environment around it.

ELIOT/QUINN/PARKER

He slides out of the cab and goes to the front door, as Parker parks Diwali's truck next to Jayda's, he knocks on the door firmly and waits, listening to a thump from inside followed by the rumble of growled out grumbling, suddenly the door is yanked open and a very disheveled Eliot growls out "WHAT?" Before really looking at who's stood in front of him, so Quinn decides to piss Eliot off just a tiny bit.

"Girl scout Cookies? Would you like some girl scout cookies mr short, dark and handsome?" He says in a high falsetto.

"Quinn!" Eliot growls out and body tackles him back out of the doorway, wrestling, punching and laughing with him on the porch in nothing but his underwear and a bathrobe that had come undone when he tackled him.

"Mmmm, tasty!" Parker comments as she stands staring at them, pulłing them both up short and making them climb to their feet embarrassedly.

"C'mon in, meet Sarah" Eliot tells them looking a little sheepish.

"Well we have supplies for you so how about we bring them in first?" Quinn suggests with a grin.

"Yeah, just give me two minutes to get dressed and I'll..." Eliot starts, before being interrupted by Quinn.

"Don't worry about it, me and Parker have got it, I mean get dressed if you want to but don't do it just on our accounts." He tells him, leering at him slightly through the open robe, making Eliot blush hotly.

"Pack it in Quinn! there's a little girl in here who don't need to see or hear that kinda thing" Eliot rumbles out in his protective growl.

"Sorry El, it was just a joke" Quinn apologises.

"I know, it just ain't suitable right now, ok?" Eliot explains.

"Ok, we'll go get the food in, you go see to the kiddie, we'll just be a moment" he says over his shoulder as he and Parker head to the back of Jayda's truck.

Eliot heads back inside the house, rubbing the bottom of his spine as he goes, he's not sure how he ended up balanced on the edge of the sofa but he was asleep when Quinn knocked, making him jump and then fall off his precarious perch, at least Sarah was still asleep, between where he had ended up on the edge, and the back of the sofa, no wonder he fell off!

Once he's checked on Sarah he decides to quickly trot up the stairs and put some more clothes on, so up he runs, two steps at a time, drops his bathrobe onto the bed and pulłs his jeans and shirt from last night on, just as he's doing up his belt buckle he hears an ear-splitting child's scream from downstairs, he sprints out of the bedroom, grabs the newel post to whip himself round to face the staircase, takes the first step down, and his knee collapses out from underneath him again, sending him rolling down the staircase, when he hits the bottom he rolls shakily to his feet, and is across the room with Sarah in his arms before he even thinks about it, turning to put himself between her and Quinn who seems to be the reason she's screaming.

"WHAT DID YOU DO, MAN?" He growls out with such force it comes across as a shout even though it's been said through clenched teeth.

"El, I swear, I didn't do anything to her! I just stopped to have a look at her, her hair was in her face and when I went to brush it away she started screaming, but I swear my fingers barely touched her!" Quinn answers in a hurry.

"Hey, bug, look at me for a second, you're safe ain't no one gonna hurt you here, let me see those pretty eyes for a second ok?" He half whispers into Sarah's hair, trying to coax her to look up at him so he can check she's ok, because she's still crying, and if it had just been from a shock she would have stopped by now.

"Please?" He asks again after getting no response the first time, this time she shakes her head where it's buried into his neck, his large hand rubbing her back in gentle circles.

"Why not, bug?" He asks as quietly as he can.

"Hurts, daddy" she answers, squeezing her arms around his neck even tighter.

"What hurts baby?" He says, trying to get her to look up at him still.

"It burns, make it stop, daddy" she tells him as she lifts her face to show him, there is a huge welt right across the top of her left eyebrow, and it does look just like a burn, but Eliot knows what caused this, saw enough of them on himself as a kid, he turns back around to Quinn.

"Silver rings Quinn, really?, just after a change a young were's skin is especially sensitive to silver burns, the slightest brush can cause realły bad welts, even for an adult it is very much an irritant if left against the skin for long, I know you didn't know but look what you've done!" He says, turning so Quinn and Parker can see Sarah's face.

"Oh god! I'm sorry sweetheart, I didn't know that would happen! I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to see your pretty little face, I guess I'm a bit of an idiot, eh?" Quinn says to Sarah, looking up at Eliot quickly, trying to figure out how many broken bones this was gonna cost him.

"You're not going to take me away like the other big men in suits did are you? I want to stay here with my daddy!" Quinn looks up at Eliot sharply at her words remembering Hardison telling him that she was supposed to never find out, but then again with the things her adopted father was saying yesterday how could she not know?

"No sweetheart, your grandfather sent me and Parker over with food and things for you and Eliot, and to let him know how the search for Jayda's coming, I'm not gonna take you away, I promise, and I'm really sorry for burning you, I didn't know my rings would burn you, it was an accident, do you think you can forgive me? Please?" He says to the little girl in Eliot's arms.

"Quinn's one of my friends, like Parker and Hardison, bug, he wouldn't do anythin' to hurt either of us, not on purpose, and he'd never try to take you away from me, promise" Eliot tells her.

"Ok, but can you take them off please, they really hurt." She asks quietly, raising her hand to the burn on her head but knowing better than to touch it.

"Sure will sweetheart, see?" Quinn answers her, taking his rings off and putting them in his pocket, before saying "how about you sit and let Parker look at your head while me and Eliot bring in the rest of the stuff from the truck, ok?"

"Ok" she answers wiggling in Eliot's grip to be let down so she could go to Parker, Eliot quickly tells Parker where the first aid supplies are and asks her not to go into the other room upstairs as it's private, and she promises she won't, before taking Sarah's hand and leading her up the stairs as Eliot and Quinn go out to the trucks.

"Did you fuck yourself up falling down the stairs or are these older injuries?" Quinn asks, noticing Eliot's limp and that he's rotating his shoulder like it's giving him pain.

"Both" Eliot grunts out in reply, massaging at his shoulder.

"Hey, how bad is it?" Quinn asks in concern for his friend.

"It's nothin' too bad, I was shot in my shoulder and my thigh about eighteen months ago, the rain's been making em ache and my leg keeps collapsin' from under me, this is the second time it's given me a spill in the last twelve hours, fallin' down the stairs like that has just bruised me up some and made me ache worse where I caught the old damage, I'm fine, promise" he says with a sardonic smile. "Now c'mon lets get this stuff inside before it's smashed to pulp by this rain"

"Sure thing" Quinn replies, picking up a pair of boxes and heading for the house, Eliot picks up a duffle bag that's in the back along with the two remaining boxes of provisions and brings them into the house, kicking the front door closed behind him.

After putting the boxes in the kitchen, Eliot has a quick look in the bag, and goes to drop it near the foot of the stairs, then returns to the kitchen to start unpacking boxes, as he reaches into the first box, Quinn's hand suddenly shoots out and grabs his wrist.

"You weren't kidding! I was sure you were having me on when you said you were engaged to her! So if you're the one wearing the ring does that mean she's the one who proposed to you?" Quinn asks.

Eliot decides to edit the truth slightly because he doesn't know how much the other man knows, "Only because I didn't get the chance to" he growls out, pulling his wrist out of Quinn's grasp, "I wanted to have the perfect ring before I asked, and I didn't get the chance to find one before the exchange needed to happen, but she had this one for me, right now all I am is grateful to have this link to her, stupid I know"

"No man, Eliot, it's not stupid to want a link to someone you're worried about, someone you love, if it makes you feel better or closer to her then its a good thing" Quinn reassures him, clasping him gently on the shoulder and letting him know he wasn't alone.

"Thanks Quinn" Eliot says gruffly, nodding his head gently and then going back to unpacking the boxes.

Once Eliot and Quinn were done they were surrounded by any food you could want, meat of many kinds, fish, vegetables, fruit, milk, cheese, eggs, three different loaves of bread, coffee, soda, juice, and a few processed items like cereal, gummy sweets, chocolate, potato chips and one huge tub of ice cream.

"You know I hope this will all fit in the fridge and freezer" Quinn says looking at the mountain of fresh food that looked just like the one in Diwali's kitchen.

"It'll be fine, Jayda got one like her father, industrial type and size, she knows to always go professionally if you want good quality, I guess she listened when I told her that" he says shrugging.

Once they have everything stored away Eliot points over to the couches and tells Quinn "go sit down, I'll just find out what the girls are up to" as he moves over to the staircase and calls up "hey Parker, bug, what you girls doing up there?"

"Just coming down!" Parker yells back, making Eliot smile and shake his head fondly.

Eliot starts to walk towards where Quinn has sat down, until he hears small feet running down the stairs "daddy!" Sarah shouts out, making him turn and catch her as she throws herself at him.

"Hey! What happened to bein' careful on the stairs? You gotta be careful, ok?" Eliot says to Sarah.

"I'm sorry, daddy, I didn't mean to be bad!" She says burying her face in his neck.

"Hey no! I didn't say you were bad, bug, just that you need to be careful, I don't want anythin' bad to happen to you is all" he explains to her gently.

"Ok" she whispers into his neck, hugging tighter.

"Sorry!" Parker says behind him, "when I said we were just coming she darted off, and was down the stairs before I could stop her, I'm sorry El"

"It's ok Parker, kids are kinda like you, slippery and quick, just remember next time" Eliot answers her, holding out his free arm for her to come for a hug.

Once she's had her forgiveness hug Parker comes to sit next to Quinn, shuffling up against his side, almost like she was trying to snuggle in without actually doing so.

As Eliot walks towards the sofa with Sarah on his hip Quinn asks "What's this?", looking at Sarah's drawing from the night before "you never said you could draw Eliot"

"I can't, Sarah drew that last night" Eliot answers, before Sarah's head whips around from his shoulder.

"NO! That's private! It's for my daddy to make him less sad!" She growls at Quinn, for all the world a miniature version of Eliot.

"Hey bug! That's not nice! We don't growl at people" he admonishes her.

"But you do! You do it all the time!" She points out.

"Well, yes, but that's because I'm a bad tempered old man, and you shouldn't do the things I do, ok?" He tells her a little embarrassedly.

"Here" Quinn says quietly to Sarah "I didn't know it was private, but this is really, really good, I know professional artists who aren't this good" he praises her as he hands her the drawing.

"This is for you, daddy" she says quietly, "to make you feel better, it's what's gonna happen"

"Well thank you bug, I..." Eliot trails off when he looks at the picture, a perfectly rendered image of Jayda, but with shoulder-length hair, holding what looks like a newborn baby, this drawing is so good it looks like a black and white photograph, and it takes Eliot's ability to speak away, this was what he wanted so badly, he has to clear his throat to be able to speak "ahem..., that is amazin' bug, you have an amazin' talent there, thank you for drawin' this" he finishes whispering into her hair.

After putting the picture on the dining table Eliot sits on the opposite end of the couch sideways on so he's facing Quinn and Parker, with Sarah on his lap snuggled into his chest.

"So what's goin' on? Any idea where they're holdin' Jay?" Eliot asks hopefully.

"El, man, if we knew where she was we'd be getting her out not sitting here, we've checked eight of the sites last night, unfortunately they were all a bust, but we have an idea, so we wanted to talk to Sarah, if that's ok?" Quinn says gently.

Eliot nods at them and then leans down to talk to Sarah quietly "hey bug, you gonna answer some questions to help find Jay?"

Sarah shrugs against him, as if shy of Quinn and Parker after her outburst.

"Please sweetie? For me?" He all but begs.

"Ok....., for you daddy" she whispers to him, before turning her head to look at Quinn "are you really gonna save Jayda, Quinn?" She asks, looking at him with huge blue eyes that are almost an exact copy of Eliot's, apart from the thin ring of what looks like violet around the outer edge of the iris, 'God, Eliot's gonna be beating them off with an axe when she gets older' he thinks, a little shocked at his own reaction, did he think that way about Eliot's eyes? Then again, he's never known Eliot to turn anyone interested down..., wait! Again? What the hell was wrong with him and his head at the moment? Why did he keep thinking of these broken people these ways? He shakes his head to himself and answers Sarah's question.

"Well I'm gonna try to, until your.... daddy is better and he can take over, I'm probably gonna stick around til she's safe now anyway, but trust me if anyone can find her and get her back it's these guys, I've seen them do the impossible too many times to ever bet against them" Quinn tells her as truthfully as he can, trying to improve her spirits (and Eliot's too).

"What do you need to know?" She asks, shuffling round on Eliot's lap so she can face Quinn, and unknowingly gives Eliot a rather hard kick to the balls in the process, making him flinch a little and go an alarming shade of red, which with his bugged out bright blue eyes looks rather comical, but he never lets out a sound, not wanting his little girl to know she hurt him.

Quinn bites the inside of his mouth to stop himself from commenting, smirking or laughing at Eliot, until he can ask with a straight face "ok honey, we need to know about where they held you prisoner after kidnapping you, what did the place look like?"

She instantly replies "it was a concrete basement, there was a big metal spike in the floor that they tied me to, there was only one light they turned on, it was right above me, it meant all the rest of the room was so dark I couldn't see, there was a drain next to the spike, they told me that if I got sick to be sick down the drain, but I didn't need to, I think there were lots of people there, but I only saw a few of them."

"That's amazing Sarah! Ok next I want you to focus on the things you heard, now I know you're a wolf so it's ok to tell me about stuff you heard that a normal human wouldn't ok?" He asks taking the little girl's hands.

Sarah squeezes her eyes closed and thinks for a moment before saying "the room was quite big, twenty five feet by forty by seven and a half, and had a few large pieces of furniture in it, there was a heavy steel door at the bottom of the staircase that led into the basement, the house upstairs had rats, wild ones not ones in cages, I could hear them scrabbling at night when everything else was quiet, the electric kept cutting out upstairs but never in the basement, I know because i'd hear them complaining if it went off during the sports or news casts, they complained about the electric a lot, it was always going wrong, one guy with a loud voice kept saying 'this place is a death trap, hawt, there's bare wiring showing through the walls, the whole place is gonna go up at this rate!', they had lots of cars and trucks too, vehicles were always coming and going all day and night, that's all I remember hearing, sorry"

"No darling there is nothing for you to be sorry for you're doing brilliantly!" Quinn reassures her "ok, one more question and we're done ok? This time I want you to tell me about all the things you could smell, alright?"

Sarah nods at him and then closes her eyes again "outside before going in I could smell honeysuckle, lots of it, it made my nose burn and my eyes water, there must have been lots and lots to make me feel so bad, the house inside smelled of rotting, damp wood and mouldy food, it stank! Once I was tied up I could smell the man they had look after me, he was scary looking but really nice, he gave me bottles of water and a blanket when he wasn't supposed to, he smelled a bit like dadd... Jared, he must use the same spray or something, but it smelled better on him than.. Jared, the basement smelled of wet mould, it smelled like greasy, and I could smell leather and sawdust and wood glue, the metal of the spike, and under everything else there was this faint smell, but it was EVERYWHERE, it smelled a little bit like tar, a bit like engine oil from a car and also like molasses, it would have made me sick if it had been much stronger, it was horrible, that's all I can remember" she finishes looking upset and guilty with tears in her eyes.

Quinn nods over her head to Eliot, who turns her around to look at him (carefully) "hey, you, you did so good! I'm so proud of you! You remembered so much! I know people trained to do what you just did who ain't half as good! You are the most awesome little bug in the world" he tells her, hugging her tightly, but gently, and letting her know just how proud he is of her.

"Daddy?" She whispers in his ear.

"Yeah bug?" He whispers back.

"Why do you call me that?" She asks, playing with the key hanging around his neck.

"What 'bug'?" He asks, getting a nod against his neck.

"Well yesterday when you were all wrapped up in your blanket, I couldn't help thinkin' it looked like a cocoon, like you were snug as a bug in a rug, so I decided you'd be my little bug, who I would keep as safe and snug as if in a rug, it means you're my little snugabug! Or just bug for short, if that's ok with you" he tells her, kissing her forehead and making her laugh "is it ok?" He asks a little more seriously.

"Yes!" She tells him putting her small arms around his neck and squeezing, making him laugh as his air is cut off.

"Hey, why don't you show Parker the security on the basement doors and the back doors? And I'm sure she'll teach you about how to get into them anyway if you ask nicely" Eliot suggests so that he can have a quiet talk with Quinn.

"Ok!" She replies jumping down from Eliot's lap and leading Parker away towards the stairs again.

"So, what do you think?" Eliot asks the moment they're out of sight.

"I think she's got it right, they are in a derelict or near-derelict house, one with a concrete basement, is that common around here?" Quinn asks.

"No, basements are common in some parts but the land the tribe live on is in a slight depression, water gathers when it rains and stays for quite a while, makin' for basements that flood, collapse or just make everythin' go mouldy, the only one I've ever seen in the area that was free of all those problems is downstairs, and this house is built beside a lake, whatever Jay had done to make the basement water and damp-proof really worked" Eliot tells him.

"Right, we need Sarah to look at photos of some of the guys we suspect of being part of this, see if she recognises any of them since she saw a few of the men there, also I'll get Alec to check the cctv at the local gas stations, if they have quite a few vehicles then they've gotta be gassing them up somewhere, which might lead to IDing more of them, also we'll check for anyone who goes by the name 'hot' or 'hawt' who has any kind of link to kidnapping jobs..." Quinn continues, until he's cut off by Eliot.

"Quinn, is there any chance she misheard what was said? Could it have been 'Hawk'? Because as much as I don't wanna say it, he hates us enough to do this, although we would never have interfered in their 'family' if this hadn't happened, as I knew nothin' about Sarah and Jay thought she was happy at home, so I just don't know, it's such a huge contradiction that I just don't know what to think." Eliot explains, beginning to sound as depressed as he felt.

"It's possible it could have been 'Hawk', but aside from the contradiction of it all, think about this, does his farm have any old outbuildings with a concrete basement? Or does he have anywhere else you can think of that he would use to keep Jayda where she won't be found?" Quinn asks, trying to help his friend.

"Not on the farm, the whole place was built from scratch, no basements and no honeysuckle either, I can't think of anywhere else he could keep her, not where he wouldn't be caught" Eliot tells him.

"Ok, the heavy steel door would have to have been ordered, made, shipped and fitted so we can look for any record of that, it could give us an address, are Sarah's measurements of the room likely to be accurate?" Quinn asks interestedly.

"Yeah they'll be right, not only is Sarah a genius but she also has werewolf hearin', we're really good at trackin' sound, usin' it to triangulate position and judge distance, it's a huntin' thing" Eliot explains with a shrug.

"That's how you always know when someone's sneaking up behind you, even Parker?" Quinn exclaims.

"Yep, along with the scent thing, that's also how sarah knows there were several large pieces of furniture in the room, because of how the sound bounces off things" Eliot tells him smugly.

"Right, what about the smell she described? As she described it your nose twitched as if you could smell it, do you know that smell?" Quinn questions him.

"That's the thing, as she was describin' it i'd swear I could smell it, and somethin' in the back of my mind is tryin' to make a connection, or jog somethin' free but it's just not comin' to me yet!, this is so frustratin'! I might have the answer to where she is trapped in my head, and for all I know, the reason I can't remember, is because of the number of blows to the head I've suffered over the years!" Eliot growls as he starts to rant.

"Hey, hey, El calm down, getting wound up and stressed is not gonna help Jayda, or help you remember, or keep Sarah happy and calm, is it? Take a few deep breaths and try and calm down" Quinn councils him.

Eliot takes a few deep breaths and rubs his hands over his face a few times before looking up at Quinn again.

"Sorry man, I didn't mean to lose it like that, I guess everythin's just getting to me, but that's no excuse, you're totally right" he apologises. "Do you think you could do me one last favour? I know I've asked so much already, but I gotta be able to hold it together.... do you think you and Parker can stick around for another hour and watch Sarah while I spend some time downstairs? Jay's got it set up like a dojo or trainin' gym down there, I think it's just what I need to centre me" Eliot asks with a hint of desperation in his tone.

"Sure, she and Parker seem thick as thieves already, excuse the pun, and I could do with a little while to try and score some likability points back, anyway I can call Hardison and tell him the new things he needs to search for and get him to text me a few things we need to know before setting off, it's win-win" Quinn answers jovially.

Eliot goes to get changed and takes the bag Diwali sent upstairs with him, once he's in the bedroom with the door closed he opens the bag on the bed, he takes out a note and puts it to one side to read in a minute, takes out clothes and boots for Sarah, his boots and jeans from the day he was shot, the jeans would need washing another time or two but the boots didn't seem to have any blood on them luckily, he notices, although he looks there's no sign of his emerald shirt, it seems like too much to ask that it somehow survived, his cell phone, wallet and other items out of his pockets were in there, along with his silver plectrum necklace which he decided not to put on as he'd just been reminded what it would do if it touched Sarah, and then he pulled out the final items from the bottom of the bag, a Sig Sauer P228 and a Glock 23, plus plenty of ammo and clips for both, Eliot holds the guns, one in each hand and looks up at the ceiling before closing his eyes and tipping his head downwards again.

Eliot knew Diwali had sent these weapons so that he could protect Sarah better, although he'd take his wolf and super-fast reflexes over a gun any day, Diwali didn't know that, he didn't know how much Eliot hated guns and using guns, even when he had to and he didn't know just how good Eliot was without a gun, but despite all that Eliot needed to make a choice, put the guns away and rely on his natural skills like he always does, or carry one of the guns just in case Jared came looking for them with a gun in hand, like he did yesterday?

Eliot decides to read the note before trying to come to a decision, there may be information in the note that has baring on the choice...

_Eliot,_

_Here are your things, some things for Sarah and two guns, I don't know if you already have a gun with you or even whether you usually carry/use one, but I have to be sure I do everything I can to help protect Sarah, and you._

_Jared is crazy, he hates the were's, and has been trying to cause dissension between the were's and the rest of the tribe, only a few have joined his side but even one is too many, as I'm sure you remember._

_Because of this I have a fear he may come after you both before leaving our lands today, please use these guns to protect you both, I couldn't bare to have to tell Jayda that her child and her Mate were hurt or dead because they didn't have the protection they needed from me._

_Be safe son, and keep your daughter safe too, I will see you soon_

_Diwali_

Eliot reads the note twice and then makes a choice, he loads both guns, and two extra clips for each, double checks the safety on each gun, and he puts the Glock in the back of his belt tucked under his shirt and the Sig behind his belt buckle, also hidden under his untucked shirt, the clips for one gun in one front pocket and the other clips in the opposite pocket, he didn't like this but he had a feeling something was going to happen today, he wasn't gonna risk his little girl's life by not being prepared.

JAYDA

Jayda was already awake when she hears the first step on the staircase, either Eric or his boss coming down to start her day.

She realises that she didn't even know how long she'd been here, her body was saying two days, but her mind was saying four or five, it was hard to figure out, there were no windows to indicate the passing of days and nights, the light was never turned off or dimmed, from the little she could hear the sounds of the house never seem to change to indicate sleep patterns, and she could never be sure how long she'd been out of it each time she fell into unconsciousness, she could have lost whole days if they drugged her while she slept, or drugged the water.

But her body clock was nearly always right, so she was gonna go with two days for now until she knew differently.

The big door swings open and then closes quietly, the footsteps come closer but stop outside the ring of light, 'still a coward' she thinks to herself.

"Why stand out there? I know who you are now, come into the light and face me, or don't you dare?" Jayda asks from her spot kneeling by the spike.

"Well first off, Bitch, I prefer the shadows, the view is so much better from here, I learned that watching your filthy spawn sit there and cry and snivel, just like you have been the last couple of days, secondly, you're asking if I dare? Which one of us is on their knees? Begging and grovelling for every kindness?" He tells her.

"Now, I'm going to offer you a chance, if you tell me what I want to know, A. I Won't have my men double-entry gang rape you, I'll make them do it one at a time, it'll probably hurt less but will definitely take a lot longer. And B. I won't kill your dirty larvae when I go to kill your father when I leave here, how does that sound?" He offers, laughing.

"You filthy bastard! You reprehensible monster! You would kill an innocent little girl and a defenceless old man! What kind of fuckin' COWARD are you?" Jayda yells, screaming at him as she struggles to reach him so that she can kill him with her own bare hands.

"There, there, just answer the questions and the bastard brat will be safe, can't say fairer than that! Oh alright then, one more kindness then, you talk and I won't have you scrubbed today, not inside or out, ok?" He offers in a bored tone of voice.

Jayda goes still "you said you wouldn't use The Implement on me, because I'm pregnant" she says quietly.

"'The Implement' I like that! And I didn't say I wouldn't have it used on you, I just decided not to give you an antiseptic inter-uterine douche. that. Day." He says sounding smug now.

"If I tell you what you want to know will you promise me you'll do nothing that could cause a miscarriage to me? No Implement and no douches?" She begs.

"Hhhmmmmm, I promise" he says lightly, there's the sound of a chair being dragged into place and then of him sitting, "so tell me, how do werewolves pass on their infection? Is it only those they choose who become infected?"

"The only way to be a werewolf is to be born a werewolf, it's not an infection that can be passed to others by blood or saliva, no they can't choose which of their children have the ability, in most cases any child born to a were is a were, but in cases of multiple births such as twins and triplets, only one is guaranteed will have the active gene, usually that one is the firstborn, they don't know why, in twins it's a 50/50 chance for them both to be a were rather than just one, but in triplets it's nearly always only the one who will have the gene active, although all were children carry the gene and if they breed with another carrier then their child will most likely have an active gene." Jayda answers, trying to make it simple without losing too much information.

"What about the bite? Isn't that why the mutt bit you? To make you one of those filthy monsters?" He rants at her.

"The bite is a myth, it was created to stop the were's and the humans from intermarryin' and interbreedin' , to try and stop the were lines from being watered down, broken and lost, to keep them 'pure', I was barely a toddler when Eliot and I were taught it was a myth, we even tried it out anyway when we were ten, he bit me and tried to turn me so that we could run off and be wolves together so he wouldn't have to go home to his abusive, were-hatin', father anymore, it didn't work, the reason Eliot bit me is... well, I liked it, and because he was claimin' me as him mate, it's the way it's done" she explains.

"Then why did he bite you three times? If not to change you?" He challenges her.

"The first time was just the equivalent of bein' given a lovebite, you know all about them don't you? The second was him claimin' me..." she tells him, hating that she has to explain this most intimate of things to Eliot's killer of all people.

"And the last one?" He's sitting on the edge of his seat now, she can tell from the sound of it creaking and the way he's breathing, thinking he's about to get the answers he wants.

"The last bite was when his wolf claimed me, and that doesn't mean what you think it does, Eliot's never had sex in his wolf form not with anyone, what it means is Eliot was in rut, that's matin' season to those of low I.Q.s, and because of that his wolf was close to the surface of his mind, and Eliot-the-wolf took control and bit me again, to add his claim to that of Eliot-the-man, that's all there is to it, no changin' people into wolves, you've just been watchin' too much Buffy" she says, shrugging at him.

"What about a cure?" He asks desperately.

"There is no 'cure' it's a genetic mutation they're born with, you couldn't change that without it killin' them, it's written into their D.N.A., and even if you could we don't have that kind of technology, it's just not possible and it's not goin' to be because that kind of experimentin' will never be allowed" she tells the darkness where she knows he is.

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" He asks suspiciously, trying desperately to find a last straw to cling to.

"Just ask my father, or the chieftain of the tribe, either of them will tell you exactly what I just did, because it's the truth" she says gentling her voice because she doesn't want to make him angry on top of the answers he didn't want to hear.

"I don't believe You! You're just lying to get me to give up! Well I'll teach you not to lie to me!" He suddenly screams at her.

She takes a deep breath, knowing that her 'punishment' for 'lying' was most likely going to be one of the things she most fears, from the house upstairs she hears a buzzer sound, like a doorbell, and for a moment Jayda allows herself to hope it's someone there to rescue her, then she hears footsteps on the staircase and realises he'd set up a buzzer system to let Eric know when he's wanted, once the door has closed and the footsteps approaching have stopped she hears a murmured conversation, then Eric steps into the light, his eyes saying 'I'm sorry' he lifts his hand and punches her hard in the face, then the darkness washes over her like black waves, pulling her under, deeper.


	16. To be forced and be force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda endures what she believes is the worst torture possible, Quinn and Eliot save the day when Jared lays siege to Diwali and Hardison and Jayda learns one of the benefits of the changes she's undergoing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR EXPLICIT:-  
> RAPE  
> ANAL RAPE  
> ORAL RAPE  
> GANG RAPE  
> VIOLENCE AGAINST A FEMALE CHARACTER  
> Derogatory speech about asexuals - this is not the writers view, just the asshole characters.
> 
> So I've been writing chapter twenty, then I realised it's about four long chapters long so I'm trying to find where to put the breaks in, but it's not cooperating.
> 
> It looks like this could end up being twenty five to thirty chapters long depending on how many chapter twenty turns into and how long it takes me to wrap up the story.
> 
> I know I promised MCU in the next story, but I kinda wanna write a timestamp after this story and one set during the one day and night in Moscow when Sarah was conceived, but the next long instalment will DEFINITELY feature the MCU as main characters, how about you all let me know which one you'd like to read most?
> 
> Enjoy this instalment!

JAYDA

When Jayda comes round from the blow she's strapped down in the spreadeagled position again, but not on the floor this time, this time she's laid on what feels like a pair of crossed beams, and from what she can tell she's at about waist height on an average adult.

She lays there unable to move, wondering what was going to be done to her now, when she hears a chuckle, and he speaks out of the darkness above her head.

"So you finally woke up then you lazy Bitch, well I have an appointment with your father I just can't miss, so I'm leaving you with the boys, and believe me they've been waiting for this! So they're gonna ' _entertain_ ' you while I'm out, and then I'll come back and tell you how that stupid old man grovelled and begged before he died, about how he knew his daughter was getting gang-fucked by some huge cocks while he gasps his last breaths, and then I'll tell you how I slaughtered your disgusting, mutated, offspring too, all before I teach you a lesson about lying to me, it's going to be such a busy, fun, day!' He says, making her blood run cold, but before she can say anything she hears the door open and close, he's obviously left and Jayda feels hot slow tears drip down her temples and into her hacked hair, she'd already lost the man she loves to this bastard and now he was going to kill her father and her daughter, _Eliot's_ daughter! And there was fuck all she could do about it! How was she meant to live with all of this?

The door creaks open again surprising her, she hadn't been paying attention to the sound of footsteps on the stairs because of her upset, but now she hears at least five men crowd into the room and advance on her, one of them comes up to her head and puts a blindfold on her, telling the others "done, who wants first?"

QUINN

"Eliot? I thought you were getting changed?" Quinn greets him as he comes down the stairs, gesturing for him to come over to the back wall of the house.

"Quinn are you carryin'?" He asks quietly and seriously.

"I brought something but left it in the truck while we came in, I know how much you hate guns and was pretty sure you wouldn't want me to carry around Sarah so I left it in the cab, why?" Quinn answers, perplexed.

"I want you to go get it and carry it on you all the time, ok?, while yes I hate guns Sarah's life is too important for me to risk, Jared might come lookin' to kill us both today and I ain't gonna let him get to her, if we never get Jay back or we're too late she'll be all I have left of her, I just can't lose them both" Eliot tells him, pulłing up the front of his shirt to show Quinn the Sig.

Quinn's eyebrows shoot up at the sight of the gun, seeing Eliot packing was something he thought he'd never see, he nods to Eliot and clasps his shoulder in silent support before heading out of the door to get his gun, thinking all the while that he was glad he wasn't the one Eliot was mad at.

Once he's retrieved his weapon and has put it safely in its holster, he returns to the house, seeing no sign of any of the others he sits down and calls Hardison, hoping the hacker has dragged himself out of bed by now, it is nearly noon after all.

"Lo?" Comes the answer after nearly the maximum number of rings.

"Hardison? It's Quinn, are you still not up?" He asks, trying to give the man a moment to gather his senses.

"Nah man, I'm up! I was just thinking about the things we talked about last night..." he claims, not disguising the sounds of him getting up as well as he thinks.

"Well, I left you a note this morning reminding you of the things you needed to do, but we've talked to Sarah and we think we have more for you to look for, if you've got some way to note them down I'll tell you them now" Quinn tells him.

"Ok, ok, give me a minute.... right shoot" Hardison tells him.

"Ok, first you wanna look in the plans for properties on the tribal land, you're looking for one with a basement, most likely made of concrete, the house will either be abandoned or derelict, not fit for human habitation, if you find any photos of houses fitting that description look for one covered in honeysuckle, lots of it." Quinn starts with.

"Then we need you to look for cctv at all the local gas stations, you're looking for your 'bulky' guys again, driving a variety of cars and trucks, using the pumps at all hours of the day and night, if you spot some of our guys see how they pay, if it's plastic it may be traceable to our mastermind or an address." He counts off on his fingers as he adds more points and details.

"You need to look for someone who manufactured, shipped or fitted a reinforced steel door to this area, we're looking for where it was shipped to or fitted at, that's our entrance to our basement, and finally I need you to find out if there is anyone in the kidnapping or holding prisoner circles who's referred to as 'hot', 'hawt' or 'hawk' and one last one for me, but don't tell Eliot unless it pans out, see if there are any properties, apart from the horse farm, that are or were registered to Jared or any member of his family, even if it's not been owned by them for years, I'll need a full list ok?" He finishes.

"What do you need that list for man?" Hardison asks, even as Quinn can hear the laptop keys clattering in the background.

"Well I'm gonna compare it against all the places the locators have visited to see if any overlap, and when we run out of places to search on the list we have already, I'll start checking out all the properties on this list, we need to have options, we can't let Eliot down by letting him think we have no leads or we're not trying, it'd kill him" Quinn answers.

"He's that bad?" Alex asks "i'd have thought having Sarah with him would help?"

"It is, but you've gotta remember, he knows that he has to give her back to Jayda's sister when all this is done, so either way he's losing her and I think he's terrified that he's gonna lose Jayda too, i'd be scared too if it was my fiancée" Quinn points out.

" _Fiancée_? Is that what he said?" Hardison says making choking sounds.

"Yes, he's got a ring and everything, why? What do you think they are to each other?" Quinn asks.

"Dude they're the werewolf equivalent of _married_! It's called being Mates, which I'm guessing is exactly what it sounds like, I don't know any more details but that's what happened, I don't know anything about any engagement or ring, that's all news to me" he tells Quinn.

"Ok, well I'll see what he says ab..." Quinn starts before being cut off by the sound of a huge crash, what sounds like a small explosion and a gunshot from the other end of the line.

"Hardison?... ALEC??..." Quinn shouts into the phone before the call is cut off.

"ELIOT!!! Quickly something's happening!!" He shouts out in panic.

"What? What is it? What happened?" Eliot shouts back as he sprints down the stairs from the bedroom.

"I was talking to Hardison, and there was a huge crash, explosion and then a gunshot, it sounded like a shotgun or old fashioned rifle, it was really loud, I shouted Hardison's name a few times but he didn't answer and then the line went dead!" Quinn tells him, trying to give the maximum information in the quickest time.

"Right wait a second" he says to Quinn before going towards the stairs again "PARKER!" He yells out.

"What?" She yells back from the bottom of the stairs.

"Come here quickly, leave Sarah down there" he tells her.

"What's going on?" She asks as she reaches him at the top of the staircase.

He instantly starts talking quickly and very quietly "Somethin' has happened at Diwali's, now me and Quinn are going to go over and deal with it, but I need you to stay here with Sarah, I know you're worried about Hardison and probably want to come with us, but me and Quinn are hitters, dealin' with this kinda thing is what we do, and I want us to do everythin' we can to protect Hardison and Diwali, and I need you to protect Sarah, I'm trustin' you to protect the most precious thing in the world for me, will you do that?" Eliot tells the thief.

"You're right I do wanna go but I know it's better that you two go, Jayda had a panic room of sorts built as part of the basement, Sarah has access, I'll lock the basement doors and then lock us in the saferoom, it'd take people on a level with us to get in there, no way Jared or anyone else around here could manage it, I'll protect her with my life for you Eliot, I swear" Parker replies "but just.... do your best to bring Alec back alive, please?" She asks trying to give him a small smile but not quite making it.

"Of course I will darlin'" he promises "I'm just gonna go see Sarah I'll be two minutes, do you wanna start the truck Quinn?" Eliot adds, tossing the keys to Jayda's truck over to him, he nods and heads out the door as Eliot heads down the stairs.

"Hey bug? You down here?" Eliot calls out when he doesn't instantly spot Sarah upon entering the basement.

"Over here, daddy" she calls quietly, he turns to see her sat right in the middle of a giant beanbag, one that looked big enough for five adults to share comfortably, that was sat in the corner of the room.

"Hey bug!" He greets walking over to crouch in front of where she's sat "somethin's happened and I have to go with Quinn and make sure Hardison and your grandfather are alright, it shouldn't take too long but while we're gone we want you and Parker to stay in Jayda's saferoom, will you do that for me? So that I know you're both safe? Please?" Eliot asks.

"Will it be like a sleepover?" She asks him.

"Kinda, if you bring lots of paper and your drawin' pencils down you and Parker can both draw me pictures, how does that sound?" He asks.

"That would be great!" She tells him, easing his mind a little.

"But you'll be ok won't you? Promise?" She asks.

"I promise to try my best not to get hurt" he tells her, hoping it's a promise he can keep as he hugs her tightly. "I gotta go now but we'll be back real soon, I love you, snugabug"

"I love you too, daddy" she says as he disappears out of the doors and up the stairs.

When he reaches the top he quickly hugs Parker and then runs out the door, which she locks behind him, and to the truck where Quinn is waiting "lets go!" He growls the moment his door is slammed shut, and Quinn shoots up the driveway like they were fired out of a cannon, on their way to the Shaman's house.

JAYDA

Jayda's breathing instantly speeds up and becomes erratic, gasping as if she's run for miles, or been waterboarded for hours, her whole body heaving against the restraints holding her down, she can't see her abusers, but that has nothing to do with the fact that for the first time she's really, truly _terrified_ of what's about to happen, she knows that this will most likely at least tarnish the memories of being with Eliot, she'll never be able to think about sex without some measure of this slipping into her mind, and she'll never be able to make new memories to drown these ones out, not with Eliot gone, and even if he was still here, it's not like she'd be worthy of him and his love, not after letting this happen, and even if he could love her when she'll be so broken, filthy and disgusting, he'd never want to touch her again.

She's so deep in her head thinking this that she almost misses one of the men speaking.

"I want her mouth" he says, managing to put so much _leer_ into the words that it's the filthiest thing she's ever heard.

"Anyone puts anythin' near my mouth I'll fuckin' well bite if off and chew it up!" She growls, sounding more like Eliot on a bad day than herself.

The men around her laugh uproariously "you think we don't have a way to make sure you can't do that?" The same man answers, barely holding back his laughter, before turning to his fellows and saying "she must think we're stupid"

Just as she's wondering how that's possible one of the men grabs her lower jaw and yanks it down opening her mouth wide, another man starts putting what feels like metal hooks around the edges of of her lips and teeth before tightening straps around her head which pull them tight and hold her mouth open, once they have secured her exactly how they want her they let go and she finds that no matter how hard she tries she can't move her jaw and she can't close her mouth.

Now Jayda is completely powerless, she can't move, she can't see and now she can't speak, she is completely at their mercy, and they intend terrible things for her, the thought of the things she heard being planned, and the worst things she can imagine, things that others have told her had happened to them before they were extracted from captivity, all the things any woman fears, and for a moment her mind just blanks out, going completely empty, and when it comes back online it's clear, crystal sharp and _**ANGRY**_ , as the anger floods her mind she feels things within herself changing, she can feel strength she's never felt before thrumming through her muscles, she can hear everything, the men around her, the leather of the straps holding her down creaking, the rats in the house above scrabbling and squeaking, the doors of vehicles being opened and slammed closed, even the men's heartbeats, she can smell not just the colognes and deodorants of the men stood around her but their smells, their scents, each is unique and she knows she'll never forget them, she'll be able to hunt these filthy beasts across the world and they'll never escape her, and she can smell the house, an overlaid scent from years upon years of the same family line living in one place, an oily, greasy, smell that's a mix of burning tar, engine oil and molasses, a smell that's so sickening it makes her want to retch, but she can't with this thing in her mouth.

As her anger grows she feels her teeth lengthening, and she wants to bite, tear, rend, totally _destroy_ her enemies and bathe in their blood, she puts all her strength into fighting her restraints, but although she gets them to stretch and loosen a little she can't break them or escape them.

"Stop moving!" One of the men shouts at her as he grabs her injured ankle hard "I'll break your fucking leg if you don't keep still!"

Jayda stills, knowing that anymore broken bones are going to make any potential for escape almost impossible, and she can't risk that, with Eliot gone she can't rely on anyone else to get her out, she'll have to manage it herself, somehow.

One of the men takes a grip on her hair, right at the roots, and forces her head to the side, she can smell his excitement as his cock slides against her cheekbone before being forced into her mouth, even as she tries to block his path with her tongue, as she feels him slide further into her mouth towards her throat she begins to growl and snarl, as least as well as she can with her mouth held open.

As he pulls his cock back before thrusting deeper into her mouth again she feels another one between her thighs, his cock rubbing precum over her inner thigh before he slips his hand between them, shoving three fingers into her brutally before commenting to the other men.

"You're gonna need lube for this one, she's as dry as the Sahara! Guess what the boss said is true, she's some sort of asexual freak!" He laughs, shoving his hand into her again, obviously trying to inflict pain, not elicit pleasure, he says to the others "any of you into doing it dry before I start?" To which he gets negative responses before he adds "well pass the lube then! I've just gotta decide where to fuck first!"

Just a few seconds later she feels him against her, the blunt, bulbous head of his cock pressing right against her perineum as he says "lets have fate decide" and just pushing forwards, she can't move so it forces his cock to slide up and into her, into the place only Eliot had ever been, she tries to shout out but the man in her mouth has pushed in to right at the opening of her throat and she can't make a sound any longer, not even a growl, hell she can barely breathe.

The one between her legs pulls back and then shoves himself forwards so he enters her to the hilt, but she's fighting this and she's tight, he's only used a minimal amount of lube and it is nowhere near enough, she feels herself tear, inside, it feels like someone has used a serrated blade on her, white hot pain and a ripping sensation, she feels him pause and then his hand is there, and she feels him take hold of the ring that transects her clitoris.

"Hey, guys! Why do you think a dried up freak like this has her clit pierced? She's got a coupla others down here too!" He says to the others "hey whadda ya think it'll do if I rip it out?" He asks sounding like he really loves that idea.

"Nah man, leave it in, I wanna make her enjoy it when I do her, and that ring is a gift from God in that endeavour, I like forcing 'em to enjoy it, I reckon if they get off they can't call it rape" one of the others says, just as he finishes speaking the man in her mouth pushes all the way forward until he's into her throat and is rubbing his stinking pubes into her nose, she gags and when she can't take a breath she convulses trying to get away from the intruding flesh, making all her muscles tighten, the two men currently abusing her both moan out at the same time, getting pleasure from the muscles tightening in her throat and vagina, both men start to move in earnest inside her, the one between her thighs hammering at her as hard and as deep as he can, although her blood is easing his way a little, she is still fighting the intrusion, clamping down as tight as she can, it makes her tear further with every thrust as he forces himself against her body's natural defences again and again.

The taste of the one in her mouth is getting stronger, she assumes that he's close to cumming and starts trying to turn her head away again, this is not what she wants, the first time she sucked a man to completion was supposed to be Eliot! Not this filthy hired goon! But he still has a death grip on the front of her hair meaning she can't move her head, God what she'd give to be able to bite him, especially with these new, sharper teeth.

She's pulling against her restraints, desperate to find a way out of this before she's forced to endure his release, but there's nothing she can do, his thrusts become jerky and moments later he forces every last inch of himself into her mouth and throat, and she's forced to swallow or choke on his cum that is flooding her throat, making her gag again and again, milking him unintentionally, until he pulls out and she retches until she vomits into her hair that's hanging down from where her head is resting and down onto the floor, getting disgusted noises, slaps, nips and pinches all over her body from the men surrounding her.

As the other one starts moving less smoothly and more erratically Jayda feels a hand slide around the outside of her thigh and underneath her, before stroking around where she's being violated, then suddenly two slick fingers are being forced into her torn ass, at this new pain Jayda's back arches upwards, only the four points of restraint holding her limbs down, keeping her from falling sideways or from killing everyone else in the room, and even with this weird gag type thing in her mouth and her throat still clogged with the taste of bile and semen, she HOWLS, so long and so loud she feels like people in Canada should be able to hear her, but knowing that only more of these men will.

At the arching of her body, in response to the renewed pain, all of her muscles clamp down again, both making the intrusions into her body more painful than ever, and pushing her attacker over the edge and into orgasm as he drives himself as deeply into her as he can get, the feeling of him filling her makes her start to gag again, to more sounds of disgust from the men, but this time she doesn't vomit, she doubts there would be anything there to come up, there had only been a little water and some dissolve to nothing glucose tablets in there to begin with.

When he pulls out of her she feels a mixture of blood and semen slip out of her and slide down her ass crack, the fingers intruding in her ass pausing to use some of this mixture as lube, pushing it into her ass and using it as an excuse to add a third finger.

She is so focused on the pain and disgust that for a moment she's unaware of the things they're saying over her, and as she remembers she should pay attention to what they're saying she gathers that they're figuring out how to do something, once they stop talking she hears quite a lot of movement in her immediate vicinity and the sounds of furniture moving or being adjusted, after about a minute of this shuffling around she feels someone swing a leg over her, as if they were going to sit on her stomach as if it was a horse's back, as he lowers himself to sit on her pelvis she feels his balls rub her abs making her shudder, to the group's amusement, then he lays forward so he is chest to chest with her, and she can smell his rotten breath on her face, again making her want to retch, then she feels his hand come between their bellies and grab his cock, he lifts his hips and slides the head between her lips and over her clit, before continuing down and plunging straight into her pussy, his length rubbing against her clit with his every movement, after a few thrusts he goes still and she can't help wondering 'what is he waiting for?'.

Unfortunately she almost immediately finds out as a second cock nudges her, the three thick fingers are still ramming into her ass, so she doesn't really know where this second dick is expecting to go, unless he's wanting to fuck his friends ass? But she thinks that's unlikely, after a couple of seconds sliding around between the cock raping her and the fingers abusing her the second cock comes to rest right up against the underside of the first, at this point Jayda is beginning to suspect what might be about to happen, remembering the threat posed to her just before they arrived, and starts trying to fight her way free again when suddenly a cord is dropped over her throat and pulled tight, not quite stopping her breathing but seriously restricting it.

"Stay still or I'll tighten it a little more and tie it off, it'll be tight enough to cause brain damage but not enough to kill you, got it?" A voice threatens her quietly, she nods to show she understands and will try to follow these rules.

Just as she nods the second cock forces it's way in next to the one already inside her, again she feels a tear form, that lightening strike of pain accompanied by the shredding sensation, she feels like rags that someone's been wearing for years, between her thighs she feels tattered, used up and _destroyed_ , the two men seem to have talked about how they were going to do this, or had maybe done it before, because without a word they start on an alternating rhythm, one pulls out as the other thrusts in and then they switch, she didn't understand though, Sarah's head when she was born was quite large, when Eliot had her on his hand, or with his knot inside of her it was a larger size or width than these two cocks combined, but the hand and the knot didn't hurt, they felt wonderful, like no pleasure she'd ever felt before, and giving birth was _intense_ but not painful, but this... this was agony! How could that happen?, yet again she wished for them to just get it over and done with, she could stand days of torture from knives, guns, burns, scalds, electrocution, waterboarding, no problem, but this? She can't take this anymore....

While she's been thinking about these things she's slowly been getting more and more lightheaded and disconnected from reality, she's seeing coloured spots behind her blindfold and she can faintly hear the ocean, on top of that something is rubbing her clit hard and rhythmically, she hurts so much between her legs but she needs to finish, Eliot must be rubbing her as she either wakes up or goes to sleep, horny puppy, maybe she hurts from giving birth? Yes that must be it, and now the horny puppy is pleasuring her to show how happy he was with his Mate, she's just on the edge, just, just... and then she falls into the blackness of unconsciousness.

ELIOT/QUINN

The truck skids to a stop outside the Shaman's house, Eliot practically falling out of the passenger side before it's even stopped, running for the house, gun in hand, listening to Hardison plead with Jared over the comms, thank god the very first thing Alec did in the mornings was put his earbud in, Eliot never thought he'd have praise for one of Hardison's weird little habits, but here he was!

On the way over both Eliot and Quinn had listened through their earbuds as Jared demanded answers from the older man, wanting to know about how werewolves pass on their 'infection' and whether there was a 'cure' calling Diwali a liar when the answers he gets are not the ones he wants, he starts to rant and, by the sound of it, pace around the room they are in.

Eliot reaches the front door to find it splintered, shattered and charred, it looks like it was hit by a grenade, he pauses, just for a moment, when he's sure he hears a werewolf in human form howl, something that were's only do when in extreme pain or pleasure, and there shouldn't be any were's near here as the pack live about eight miles further into the centre of the tribal lands, but there's nothing Eliot can do right now and as he steps through the opening he hears Jared's voice, coming from the kitchen, telling Diwali he knows that the old man's lying, that he knows the reason he is lying is that the older man was glad to finally have someone in his family 'infected', even if they weren't his blood, that he knows the old man hopes it might give him real respect and standing in the tribe, after all a Shaman to a tribe made up of mostly werewolves should really share their _taint_ shouldn't he? So the last thing he'd want to do is tell Jared there's a cure so that he could 'save' Sarah.

At hearing this Eliot rumbles a growl quietly within his chest, just as he starts to step forwards to confront Jared Quinn grabs his arm to pull him back, Eliot turns to him still growling and Quinn is shocked by Eliot's appearance, his teeth are about halfway extended and his eyes have changed from all blue to a wide blue inner ring with an equally wide golden outer ring, at this Quinn instantly lets go realising the danger he's putting himself in, but Eliot doesn't attack him, he just swallows thickly and rumbles out in a whisper "what Quinn? I've got to stop him, I can't let him hurt Alec or Diwali, this is what I have to do!"

"El, I've got an idea, here lets do this...." Quinn says outlining a plan quickly and concisely for the obviously furious werewolf in front of him.

Moments later Eliot steps out into the room and shouts "Jared!"

The reply he receives is sneered at him "what do you want you rabid dog?"

"I want you to put the gun down, take your money and leave" Eliot says as if he was a paragon of calm.

"As if i'd do anything because you said so!" Jared jeers at him, turning towards him and taking a step forward to give Eliot his full attention, raising his shotgun and levelling it at him.

"You know buckshot ain't gonna do squat to me right?" He heckles the other man.

"Well.... Since I know what you are and that you'd likely come stick your nose in where it's unwelcome today, what makes you think I'm loaded with _LEAD_ buckshot?"Jared says smugly.

At this new threat Eliot's blood runs cold, depending on the gauge of the shot, if it is silver it might be impossible to remove every tiny piece of silver, and just one missed would be fatal, a slow death from silver poisoning.

"What's this all about Jared? What is it you want?" Eliot asks in a softer tone.

"It's about saving my daughter from being a filthy, half-breed animal like you! I want the cure! I want to know how you change people into what you are, so I can reverse it and make her _normal_ again!" He shouts into Eliot's face, making him clench his jaw and his fists to keep himself from lashing out at Jared.

"What if she's happy the way she is? What if she wants to stay that way?" He growls out, thinking of how pretty the markings on Sarah's wolf's coat were and how happy she'd been to run free in her wolf form, probably for the first time.

"She's a child! She knows nothing about what's good for her! I'm her father and I know what's best for her! Being an animal is not good for her, so she's going to take the cure and come home like a good, obedient child should! And you are not going to stand in the way of that!" He rants starting to pace across the kitchen in front of Eliot as he continues.

"You infected her! You made her this way! Well you're not her father, I am! And I'm the one who's gonna choose what kind of life she'll have, and if the old man doesn't tell me the cure and the truth about passing on the infection, her life is going to occur in a small metal _cage_ in the garage, where an animal belongs" he finishes with a sneer at Eliot, who takes a slow step towards him, growling deep in his chest.

"Let me make this simple for you, you ain't never comin' near **_MY_** daughter again and if I ever hear of you puttin' anyone, of any age, into a cage again, I'll rip your throat out, and after yesterday you know I can" he says, warning him while he just barely keeps a grip on his rage, fighting the urge to allow his teeth to lengthen and then to fully change so that he can rip Jared to pieces, just for threatening to cage Sarah.

" _Your_ daughter? All you did was donate to her creation! You weren't interested in being her father before now, and now it's too late because I am! So fuck you! now shut up while I talk to the old man, and you try to come any closer to me and I'll blow a silver-lined hole in you, got it?" Jared says.

Now Eliot isn't worried about the other men, because while he was arguing with Jared, Quinn had entered the dining area by the door from the living room, which was quite some distance behind Jared, and had gotten Hardison and Diwali out of the kitchen, through the house, and out into the truck, before returning to cover Eliot.

"You had the chance to leave here with a decent amount of money in your pocket, to escape charges for what you've done to Sarah, just walk away, you would be away from the were's you hate so much and be able to set yourself up anywhere you wanted, why didn't you take the deal?" Eliot asks, not understanding why he didn't take it.

"Why should I? This is MY family, MY home, MY business I built from nothing! Why should I leave it all behind just because you come back after sixteen years and stick your nose where it don't belong! You don't belong here anymore! Hell you never did, half-breed!" At hearing Jared's ranting Eliot starts to growl again, this time loudly, and at the sound of his growl Jared takes a step forwards and raises his gun "don't do it mongrel! If you even try to get to me, I'll shoot you in the chest and then turn around and shoot the old man in the face, and then I'll cut your friend's throat!"

At this Eliot starts to laugh, rolling his eyes upwards and pointing at Jared, Jared stares at him as if he's lost his mind, having no idea what's so funny to the wolf.

"What? What are you laughing at?" Jared demands, cocking his gun "what's so _fucking_ funny!!!!" He finally roars out.

Eliot finally gets himself under a semblance of control and gasps out "I can see how you might try to shoot me, but how do you intend to do the rest?"

Jared stares at him for a moment considering whether it is possible that he's losing his mind or going feeble from being shot with a silver bullet, then points over his shoulder and says "you want me to shoot the old man to prove it?"

"Go ahead" Eliot says shrugging lightly, smirking.

As Jared looks over his shoulder at where Diwali and Hardison had been he's amazed to find them gone, all that remains is a smallish puddle of blood, he swings round, ready to shoot Eliot only to find him within striking range, too close for the shotgun to be effective.

Eliot grabs Jared's wrist twisting it in such a way as to pinch the nerve and make him drop the gun, once the gun drops Eliot kicks it behind himself, away from Jared, he thrusts his other fist into the centre of Jared's body, putting his full body into the blow to his solar plexus, shoving him backwards and forcing every inch of breath out of his body, knocking him down in the process.

Eliot follows him down and puts his knee on his throat, not stopping him from breathing but making sure it's very restricted, twisting Jared's still trapped wrist Eliot snarls at him "Get this straight you overgrown, napoleon-complexed, bullyin' _bastard_ , I'm not scared of usin' my strength and skills anymore like I was when I was a kid, I'm not scared of killin' you, I've killed before for a damn lot less reason than you've given me to kill you, so leave, get out of here and never come back to _**my**_ lands again! I have enough to worry about without dealin' with some little pissant like you!"

He raises his knee just enough for Jared to get enough air to breathe, which he uses to wheeze back "what do you mean 'your lands'? You're not even part of the pack here, let alone their Alpha! And you can't make me leave!"

"Maybe not, but if you don't leave, I'll kill you, if you come back, I'll kill you, if you hurt anyone from these lands again, I'll kill you, are you gettin' the point here?" Eliot nearly spits into his face.

"You can't kill me! You'd go down for the rest of your life!" Jared screams back.

Eliot shakes his head "what in this conversation makes you think I don't know how to get away with murder? I've been doin' it for over fifteen years and they've never caught me yet" he confides in the man "now I'm gonna let you stand up, you're goin' to get up, go to your truck and leave the tribal lands forever, and you are leavin' Ruby, Jane and Sarah here, do I make myself absolutely clear?"

"What about my money?" Jared says stalling for a chance to hit out at Eliot from behind.

"you lost that chance when you attacked Diwali unprovoked, he offered you a fair deal, you screwed it up all on your own" Eliot tells him, twisting his wrist just slightly to remind him that he was still in a precarious position "now, are you gonna leave in the way I've told you to or not?"

"Yes! I'll go, but I want my share of the farm or I'll sue her for all of it and then sell it to an outsider, and that'll realły cause shit for the pack won't it?"

At this point the two men are interrupted "I've got your cheque right here, and it's barely even got any blood on it" Quinn says smirking down at the two men on the floor.

"About time you made an appearance" Eliot tells him snarkily.

"What? I was here all along, I just didn't interfere because I knew you had it under control" Quinn says innocently, not convincing Eliot in the slightest.

"So where's the cheque, I wanna get this piece of shit out of here so we can get back to what's important" Eliot tells him shaking his head in exasperation.

"Well how about before that we tell this fucker who I am? After all you already told him the highlights of your resume" Quinn asks his eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Go ahead" Eliot says, looking forward to whatever Quinn has planned, Jared's eyes repeatedly flicking from one man to the other quickly.

"Hi!" Quinn starts brightly, "I'm called Quinn, I'm what they call 'a hitter', which means I do all the violent jobs, bodyguard, assassin, torturer, muscle-for-hire, armed security, you get the idea, well I'm considered the third best in the world at what I do, the best stopped taking jobs about six years back, he joined a team of thieves and works exclusively with them or black ops for the U.S. government, the second best still does the job but with certain limits on what she'll do, I'm the top hitter who works without restrictions, and right now I really, really don't like you because you're messing with my best friends family, so here's what you're gonna do, you're going to follow every instruction Eliot has given you TO THE LETTER, and you're gonna do it quickly, got it?"

"Who are the better two?" Jared wheezes out.

"What?" Quinn asks a little taken aback.

"Who are the two better than you? I'll hire them to deal with you two interfering _cunts_!" Jared does his best to yell "you two don't scare me, but hiring them to take you both down would be worth every penny to know your out of my way for sure!"

Eliot and Quinn smirk at each other over Jared's head and Eliot says "well, the number two In the world is someone you know, Jayda Red Cloud is the second best hitter in the world, she's considered... what did you call her Quinn?"

"a stone-cold bitch, a real fucking psycho?" Quinn supplies.

"Yeah that, he then proceeded to tell me about the time a mark wouldn't tell her the information she needed to get the item she was contracted to get, about how she started to surgically castrate the poor fucker sans anaesthesia, until he gave her the info she wanted, luckily he talked fast enough that no permanent damage was done, but all the way through she never batted an eyelash, nothin' bothered her, and believe me bein' called a psycho by other hitters? Means you've gotta be really bad, most of us have both endured and dealt in torture, so for us to think you're that bad.... WOW!" Eliot tells him grinning his feral wolf-grin all the way through.

Then Quinn continues the story "turns out you also know the best hitter in the world, he's the one who has his knee in your throat right now, the only time he works outside his team is to do 'denied by the government' black-ops work, and that's only because he considers the head of the team to be a brother, but even then he incapacitates rather than kills, the only time Eliot has killed in the last six years was to save one of his team, his team are like family to him see, but if you hurt someone who IS family? Like Jayda, Diwali, Ruby, Jane or heaven forbid Sarah? Then I have no doubt whatsoever that Eliot would kill again, in the longest, slowest, most painful, torturous ways he knows, and this man used to professionally kill for Damien Moreau, but the best bit? If he lets me, I'll help him all the way, and since you've hurt all of those listed... are you scared yet? Because you damn well should be." Quinn tells him, wearing a maniacal grin of his own.

"I'll go! I'll leave and you'll never see me again! I promise! I'll have to stay in the town a few days until the cheque clears and then I'll be gone, I swear!" Jared gasps out, all the colour having drained out of his face while the two hitters had been talking, whether from the stories or the pain in his twisted wrist Eliot doesn't know, and doesn't really care.

"Ok, I'm gonna get up and let you stand, slowly, you're goin' to take the cheque from Quinn and then you're goin' to your truck and leavin', you're not goin' to look for Diwali and if you see him you will not speak to him or make any move towards him, you will walk past, get into your truck and drive away, you will not try to tell the world about the pack, or that werewolves are real, as you know that would put other packs in danger, and they will hunt you down and kill you, and we will not stop them, you're on your own. Ready?" Eliot instructs.

"Yeah" Jared answers, waiting while Eliot rises to his feet, taking Jared's twisted wrist up with him, as a means of control, and allows Jared to climb to his feet, Quinn hands him the cheque and leans in to whisper "I really hope you break these rules, so that I can come after you and get revenge for the things you've done to this family, I have a special hatred for people who hurt children and the people I love, and you've done both"

Once Jared has put the cheque away he turns for the hallway leading to the shattered front door, once Quinn has picked up the shotgun Eliot releases his wrist and gives him a shove towards the front door, after stumbling forward Jared looks back at Eliot and pivots in place, bringing a thin six-inch knife up towards Eliot's stomach and ribs, Eliot had been half-expecting it and grabs the wrist, he's in the wrong position to use the twist on it like he had the other, so it was going to come down to brute strength, which Eliot will always win thanks to his wolf, he pushes against Jared's wrist while Jared tries to jerk the blade upwards, causing the blade to sink into Jared's own side, below his ribs, he staggers backwards, looking at his hand covered in his own blood in bewilderment, he looks up at Eliot wide eyed before turning and bolting from the house holding the knife steady in his side rather than pulling it out.

"Well at least he knows not to pull it out or he might bleed to death, wonder where he'll get treatment?" Quinn says to Eliot as they hear Jared's truck start and then pull away from the house in a shower of mud and small stones.

"Who cares?" Eliot answers heading for the door to go and check on Diwali and Hardison.

When he opens the back door to the cab of the truck Hardison looks up at him from where he's putting pressure on a wound on the Shaman's thigh, he blows out a breath and says "thank god you got here when you did! Are you guys ok?"

Quinn answers for Eliot saying "we're fine, think we put the fear of God into that bastard though, he shouldn't be coming back ever again, but just to make sure I think we should go and check on Ruby and Jane before heading back to Jayda's house"

"Where are Parker and Sarah?" Diwali asks, now that he's given the chance to ask.

"They stayed at Jayda's house in the panic room, they're completely safe until we get back there" Eliot answers "but before we go anywhere we need to see to this wound of yours, what happened?"

"When Jared came in he fired what I think was meant to be a warning shot at hip height, some of the buckshot caught me in the thigh, and it immobilised me, making me an unwilling audience member for his ranting" Diwali explained.

"Well lets get you inside and I'll fix you up" Eliot tells them before placing himself under the old mans arm and helping to lift him out of the truck so that they can help him into the house.

Once inside in the room Diwali uses as a clinic and treatment room Eliot sets to work, pulłing out the supplies he needs and setting them on a moving table while Quinn helps Diwali get his jeans off.

The outer half of Diwali's left leg is peppered with small holes, maybe a dozen to fifteen, Eliot wasn't sure until the site was cleaned, and they ranged from just above the knee to about halfway up his leg, Eliot frowned down at the wounds as he cleaned them with antiseptic, Jared had used tiny gauge shot in the shells, most likely to try and kill Eliot by slow silver poisoning, he let him get off too easily, he thinks as he picks up the sterile tweezers and starts extracting the small silver pellets from Diwali's leg.

After an hour of digging into the flesh of Diwali's leg, lots of swearing and the removal of twenty seven silver pellets Eliot is finally done, each of the holes is so small that they doesn't need stitches, so Eliot simply dresses the wound and bandages over the dressing.

"Right" Eliot begins once Diwali has new jeans on and they're gathered in the living room "either we can all go to Ruby's and check on her and Jane or we can split up, Diwali and Quinn comin' to Jayda's to pick up Diwali's truck and then goin' on to Ruby and Jane to make sure all's ok there and me and Hardison goin' in to Parker and Sarah, what do you all think?"

"I really wanna go check on Parker and Sarah" Hardison says "no offence to you and yours" he adds to Diwali.

"None taken, I'm happy to go with Quinn while the two of you go in to Jayda's." Diwali replies while Quinn nods in agreement.

"Right, we'll go to our separate destinations from Jayda's and meet back there, assumin' alls well, and then I'll cook for us all, lets get movin'" Eliot says, putting his hand on Hardison's shoulder and gently guiding him out of the door.

JAYDA

Jayda awakens in complete darkness for the first time.

She panics wondering what has been done to her while she was unconscious, had they actually blinded her?

Just as she thinks this a cock is rammed straight into her mouth and then further, right into her throat, but with the pain and ceasing of her ability to breathe she remembers.

Remembers the blindfold and the weird device that kept her mouth painfully open, and she remembers the sensation of her teeth lengthening when she got angry, and while she's been unconscious one of these geniuses has removed the device from her mouth, just as she is realising this a new cock is being forced into her ass, she can feel that someone has used her there while she was unconscious because she can feel the new tears inside, the blood and the semen sliding out of her, she feels like she must have been out for hours, she feels filthy with their leavings, like they've covered every inch of her intimate areas and made her so dirty that she'll never be clean again.

But with all these sensations and memories swirling around in her mind the one thing she can focus on is her rage and where to direct it, so she gathers the rage to her, wraps it around herself like armour, funnels it towards Changing and when she feels her teeth elongate, and all the other little things that she feels inside tell her she's ready, she waits for the meat abusing her mouth to thrust harshly in as far as it can and then she BITES, snapping her jaws closed like a steel trap, and with just as much chance of opening it again if she doesn't want you to, the man above her _screams_ , he screams in a way that only a man who has just had his penis ripped off can, as he starts to fall he grabs out and pulls off the blindfold while his body pumps his blood out onto her face and the floor, and she grins, all bloody teeth and wide eyes, looking for all the world like exactly what Quinn called her, A. Stone. Cold. Psycho.

The man who had been sodomising her rips himself from her body so suddenly you'd think she's grown extra sets of teeth down there, he grabs the injured man along with his fellows and hurries to get him out and up the stairs, as she listens to the chaos ensue upstairs she slowly chews on the piece of disgusting flesh in her mouth, making sure to puncture it with her teeth during every closing of her jaws, eventually she deems it mangled enough to be unsaveable and spits it out onto the floor, she lets her teeth retract since she wouldn't be needing them again anytime soon and she can calł them at will anyway, now she just has to wait for the boss to get back.


	17. Reprisals and surprise relationships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda finds out what her captor thinks of her aggression, Eliot finds out just how truly special and unique Sarah is and Quinn makes a discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this chapter has the unplanned relationship that caught me by surprise when I was writing, and has turned out to be just as horny as Eliot is, so...
> 
> Warnings for :-
> 
> Explicit sex  
> Onscreen torture  
> Aftermath of torture  
> Medical treatment  
> Mentions of rape  
> abuse of a female character  
> suggestion of sexual abuse of a child (spoken of only, not carried out)  
> Marital rape  
> Marital abuse  
> Discussion of character death and attempting suicide by abuser
> 
> I think that's all of them but if I've missed one please tell me

When she hears the door slam open upstairs an hour after a few of the men left, probably to either take their coworker to hospital or to go bury his body, either was fine by her, the less people in the house the better, she expected to have a few minutes quiet, followed by shouting, followed by him coming down the stairs, but that's not what happens, there's a flurry of activity and then it goes quiet again.

After a while a smell of fresh blood comes to her, it's even stronger than the smell of her own vomit in her hair and on the floor, and the smell of the _mess_ the men left her covered in, it's different blood than from the man she had bitten, this smelled like it belonged to the house, a matching scent of tar, oil and molasses, so she was in the boss's family home, or what used to be the family home anyway, well at least she knew where she was now, it was maddening to think she was only two miles from her father's house, but she was somewhere no one would ever think to look.

After another four hours of waiting she hears the slow steps on the staircase of two people coming down, she had been hoping to get the boss on his own, so that once he finishes telling her what's happened to her family, if it is as bad as she fears, then maybe she can goad him into killing her, that might not work with someone else here though but she'll still try.

The slow steps stop in their usual place just outside the ring of light and she hears the slightly harsh breathing of someone who's in pain over-exerting themselves, making her frown, what had happened?

"So you filthy whore, you've proven both yourself and your father to be liars, the mongrel did infect you, and if you can be infected then you can be cured, and so can others, this is good to know, it means you'll be moved to a genetics facility where they'll use you as a guinea pig until they create a cure, but first you have punishment coming, one for lying to me, one for maiming that poor man who was just doing his job and finally one for what your father did to me before he choked to death on his own blood, because no one gets away with stabbing me, and since he's not here any longer the sins of the father will be visited on the child, unless you'd rather I did it to Ruby?" The voice says

"No! Ruby hasn't done anythin' to you, neither have I, but better it happens to me than her" Jayda says, knowing she was opening herself up to more torture but not being able to let it happen to her baby sister.

"Very well it's your choice, the first one is for the maiming of that man, it will be a variation on the ancient 'death of a thousand cuts' the difference is we're gonna aim to make as many cuts as possible WITHOUT killing you, because I want you to live, so we're going to be very careful, now do you want to know what else is in store for you?" He asks sounding like he's smugly gloating.

"I don't know, if you really want me to decide you could tell me somethin' that'll push me to make a decision, like what happened to my daughter" she challenges him.

"You really want to know what happened to her? Well tough, I'll tell you this though, your father realły, really suffered, and I'm glad, because he lied to me about the bite and the cure, I'm glad for every iota of pain he suffered, before he suffocated, and that took quite a while" he tells her, making her have to fight to hold back the changes she's been experiencing, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing the changes himself.

"Well you better get on with the cuttin' then" she replies with a lot more bravado than she feels, the only reason she is able to make herself sound so self assured is because he's said he wants her to live for two further tortures.

"As you wish" he says, and then Eric steps into the circle of light, holding a scalpel and frowning deeply, as he steps up next to her waist the boss speaks again "no, I want you to start on the soles of her feet and then work your way upwards, alright?" Eric nods in the direction of the voice and then moves to stand by her foot.

"Ready Bitch? No? Too bad, begin!" He says as Jayda hears him drag a chair forward so he can sit and observe.

Eric grips the top of her foot to hold it still and then brings the scalpel blade against the sole of the big toe, cutting into the skin just enough to separate the skin layers but not cut into the muscle or fat beneath, his cut goes from the tip of the toe all the way down to where the toe joins the foot, bisecting it cleanly, it burns terribly, but she doesn't get the chance to focus on the pain before the same is done to the length of the sole of her foot, a vertical slash that goes from the base of her middle toe all the way to the heel.

They're followed by a set of diagonal slashes that go from the second and fourth toe, cross the central cut at the same point, making a six point star, and then continue across to the side, the next pair went from the outer toes and followed the same path as the previous slashes, the next set started at the ends of the first diagonal slashes and then followed the pattern already established until her whole foot has been covered, then he moves to her other foot and begins the process again.

After a few minutes of work on the second foot Jayda begins to whimper, unable to stop herself, as the burning sensation mounts as more cuts are added slowly and methodically, and she feels the blood slowly well along the cuts, and then eventually run down to drip onto the floor to join the other bodily fluids pooled underneath her.

ELIOT

When Eliot arrives at the house in the woods he lets himself and Hardison in using his key, while Quinn and Diwali head off for the horse farm, and instantly goes down to the basement doors, to where there's a hidden intercom so that he can speak to Parker and Sarah and let them know it's safe to come out and unlock the basement doors.

"Hey Parker! Me and Alec are here! It's safe to come out now!" He calls into the intercom, after a few seconds a voice answers "if you're really Eliot then what's my name?" Sarah asks, to which Eliot replies "Hey babygirl, your name's Sarah, and I thought you didn't call me Eliot anymore?"

"That's not Eliot's secret name for me! We're not letting you in!" Sarah tells him.

"Hey, c'mon snugabug! You didn't ask what your secret name was!" Eliot answers smiling while Hardison looks at him as if he's grown a second head.

Less than thirty seconds later the doors swing open and Sarah shoots into Eliot's arms with a shout of "DADDY!" As he picks her up and swings her round before planting her on his hip and turning to the couple stood next to them kissing "ewww daddy why are they kissing like that?" Sarah asks in a stage whisper, causing Parker to break their kiss laughing.

"Well because they love each other and Parker was worried about Alec, she's just showin' him she's glad he's ok" Eliot explains.

"Should I kiss people like that when I've been worried about them?" Sarah asks innocently, making Eliot choke on the breath he was taking.

"Not until you're at least forty!" He gasps out while he catches his breath, making Sarah frown at him in confusion.

"Lets go upstairs and wait to hear from Quinn and Diwali ok?" Eliot suggests. Bumping Sarah up on his hip.

"Wait! I did you drawings!" Sarah says wriggling down from Eliot's grip until he puts her on the floor so she can go and gather the drawings she'd spent their time in the panic room drawing.

"Hey El, that kid has a real gift for drawing, I've never seen anything like it" Parker tells him, supporting what he had already surmised from the portrait of Jayda she'd done the night before.

Once Sarah returns they head upstairs, Parker and Hardison heading for the couches and Eliot heading to the kitchen, Sarah follows Eliot so that she can give him her drawings.

"Daddy?" She asks.

"Yeah bug?" He answers crouching down to her level with a loud crack of his knee, "what's up?"

"These are for you" she says holding out a small pile of paper to him, he takes them and pulls Sarah in against his side while he looks at them.

The first is a beautiful rendering of the house they are stood in and the surrounding lake and woods, it looks like it should have taken days or weeks to do, even with a reference photo or sitting outside and viewing the house, and it was one of four done in just about two hours.

The second is a line drawing and basic shading portrait of himself, smiling and laughing with his head tipped back, something he's pretty sure she's never seen him do, this one was simple but again so accurate, he had no idea how she managed it.

The third was a picture of Jayda mid-workout, hot, sweaty, her hair hanging in curls down around her face, where the shorter hairs had worked their way out of the braid she's wearing, she's performing a flying roundhouse kick to a training dummy set to the height of a 6'6" man, and nailing the jaw perfectly, the suggestion of motion is so good Eliot half expects it to resume playing like a DVD or BLURAY on a laptop.

But when he comes to the last picture he goes from crouching to kneeling with a hard impact to his knees even though the drop was no more than a foot, this picture is of Jayda and Eliot together, he's stood behind her with one arm wrapped around the bottom of her ribs below her breasts and the other hand resting on the side of her very pregnant belły, her hands are laid over each of his, left over left and right to right, it looks as though she's moving his hand on her belly so that it's in just the right place, while he wears an expression of such concentration it's obvious he's trying to feel the baby she's carrying kicking, they both look so happy and relaxed, and the background is the kitchen he's kneeling in, as Eliot's eyes roam over every small detail he notices that in this picture they're BOTH wearing engagement and wedding rings, the only thing stopping this picture being perfect is that Sarah herself isn't in it, but he thinks he knows why, and he understands this picture is a special gift, the image of everything he's wishing for, and he just doesn't have the words to tells Sarah how much it means to him.

So he tells her "these are beyond amazin' bug! We're gonna get you tested if you want to, to see if you can move up grades, and I'm gonna have the owner of an art gallery have a look at your pictures and see what she says about how good you are ok?" Then he takes a deep breath before saying "this last picture bug, there's someone important missin', I know you've drawn this because you know it's what I wish for, but if I could have it my way, without hurting anyone else, then you'd be there with us, you know that right?"

"I know that daddy, but I've decided to stay with Ruby and.... this isn't what you wish for, it's what's gonna happen, that's why I'm not in it, I won't be there then, but you and Jayda will be and you'll be happy, the babies will be born right there in front of the fire" pointing over Sarah tells him in such a matter of fact tone that he can't argue with her, instead he asks "babies? As in more than one?"

"Yes daddy, she'll have triplets...." Eliot puts his hand over Sarah's mouth gently and shakes his head at her, wide eyed, telling her not to finish what she was saying.

"Are you sure about that?" Eliot asks a little harshly, his voice rasping.

"About Jayda having triplets? Yes" she says looking a little confused and upset.

Eliot sweeps Sarah into his arms and holds her tightly but gently against his chest speaking quietly into her hair when he says "Thank you snugabug, that means a lot more to me than I can tell you"

He continues to hug Sarah for a few minutes until she starts to fidget in his arms and he lets go of her slowly, as he pulls his head back from over her shoulder Sarah takes hold of the hair covering his ears on each side and kisses his forehead gently before going to sit between Parker and Hardison, leaving him to figure out what to cook.

QUINN

When Quinn and Diwali pull up at the horse farm everything seems normal, the horse trainers are working out the horses, and the farmhands are cleaning out stables and lugging hay bales, they park in front of the house and go to the door.

Since the screen door is locked Quinn knocks and waits for Ruby to come open up, when she hasn't come after his second loud knock and Diwali shouting for her or Jane, Quinn breaks the lock on the screen and lets them in, Quinn asks the Shaman to stay behind him and let him search the house first, to which Diwali nods knowing that being quiet could be important if Jared had come back here.

After checking the downstairs of the house and finding nothing out of place they head up to the second floor, Diwali points out Jane's room to Quinn and he pushes the door open with his shoulder.

As he steps into the room, his gun leading he hears a high pitched squeal and sounds of panic, once he's rounded the door Quinn sees a little girl tied naked to a small chair wearing a gag, he instantly puts his gun away and pulls a small knife from his belt, he drops to his knees in front of the still panicking girl and whispers "look over my shoulder, do you see your grandfather behind me?" When he gets a frantic nod he continues as he cuts through the gag "we've come to rescue you and your mom, you're safe now ok?"

After a couple of cable ties have been severed the girl whispers fearfully "so you're not the bad man who wants to do things to me? Like Eliot does to Sarah?" At these words Quinn's hands stop moving, fearing that if he tried to cut another tie he might cut her, he's shaking with so much suppressed rage, "no sweetheart, I'm not here to do anything to you except make you and your mom safe, who told you Eliot wants to hurt Sarah?"

"Daddy said Eliot's a bad man who hurts people and kills people and that he wouldn't let Sarah come home because he wants to do sex things to her" the girl tells him, making him clench his jaw and wish he'd blown the guy's head off when he had the chance, anyone who would say that about Eliot, who's so protective of children, or who would tell things like that to the child they've been raising as their own, before tying them to a chair naked, deserved to be shot in the face.

"Your daddy is a lying scumbag sweetheart, did he tie you up like this?" Quinn asks, as he begins to cut the last few ties now that he has his shaking hands under control.

"Yes, what's a scumbag?" She asks making Quinn feel bad for using a derogatory term she didn't know.

"It's a realły bad person who would hurt little girls, or tell them lies, or accuse innocent people of really bad things, like your dad did to Eliot, Eliot's not hurting Sarah and he doesn't want to do those things to her, do you think your grandfather would let her stay with him if he was that kind of bad person?" Quinn asks the little girl.

"No, grandfather wouldn't let anyone hurt us, he looks after us" she answers as Quinn pulls the blanket off the bed and wraps it around her to both warm her up and cover her nudity before standing and taking her to Diwali, before he can hand her over she asks him "who are you?"

"Well..." he starts before he remembers the funny little line he's heard Eliot say occasionally and thinks it would be perfect for this situation "we be the cavalry, ma'am" he says to her giggles before saying "my name's Quinn, little miss, and you are?"

She looks over to Diwali, who nods before saying "I'm Jane, it's nice to meet you"

Quinn smiles at her and nods his head once as he hands her over, "how about we go find your mom, ok?" He asks to a fierce nod from Jane.

As they creep down the hall to what Diwali has identified as the master suite Quinn turns to him and says "better you wait here, so that you're both safe if he's here, and so that she doesn't see anything she doesn't need to, ok?" Diwali visibly wavers before finally nodding and hitching Jane further up in his arms just in case he needs to run with her there.

Quinn steps around the corner of the hallway to just outside the master bedroom, he can hear someone trying to be quiet struggling in there, he slowly, soundlessly pushes the door inwards, showing a floor covered in shredded clothing, boots, what looks like underwear, anything a woman might wear, before revealing a dressing table with the big mirror above it smashed and shattered, pieces of reflective glass scattered over about half the room, making it hazardous for anyone not wearing work boots to walk around, finalły as the door swings all the way open Quinn is confronted by Ruby, tied down to the bed, whimpering and pulling at her bonds, blindfolded.

"Hello?" she calls out, either hearing or sensing that someone's there "let me out of here please? I'll do anything you want! just please let me go when you're finished!" She begs, spurring Quinn into action.

"Hey, you're ok, you're safe now, my name's Quinn, I'm friends with Eliot, your dad is here with me, he's waiting outside the room with Jane, ok? Now I'm gonna come closer and remove your blindfold, alright?" Quinn says slowly moving towards her and trying not to look at her beaten and obviously abused body, when he reaches her head he gently removes her blindfold, he gives her a few seconds before moving to the nearest wrist and start sawing at the rope used to bind her.

"Wait! If there's something you want in return for freeing me i'd rather you took it before I was untied" she tells him biting the corner of her lip.

Closing his eyes for a second, using the time to tamp down his rage at the fact this poor woman has offered him that, and to beatdown the rotten part of himself that wants to accept this attractive woman's offer, even though he knows how wrong that would be, he takes a deep breath in.

Instead he replies "no ma'am, I'm here to help you, not abuse you" before reaching for the rope again.

"If that's the case would you mind freeing my legs first and then helping me cover myself so I don't feel so exposed, please?" She asks meekly.

Quinn immediately grabs a pale sheet and covers Ruby except for her ankles downwards, her neck upwards and her wrists outwards so that he can free her and she can start to both warm up and feel a little safer.

"Is that a little better?" He asks as he saws at the thick rope tying her ankle to the leg of the bed.

"Yes, thank you, is Jane alright? Did he hurt her?" She asks in a rush, obviously more concerned for her child than for herself.

"He didn't hurt her physically other than her being tied to a chair naked and left like that, she was very cold and scared but as soon as we had her free we wrapped her in a blanket and she seems fine" Quinn answers her, getting frustrated at how long it was taking to cut through the thick rope.

"What do you mean 'not physically'?" Ruby asks.

"He'd told her that bad men were going to come to hurt her, that they'd do things to her like Eliot was doing to Sarah, he told her that Eliot likes to do 'sex things' with little girls, the way she said it I think he told her in detail what that means, even when she knew your father was with me and she could see him she was terrified of me, he really did a number on her" he explains as he finally gets through the rope and slips the truncated loop off her ankle.

He moves to the other foot, careful to make sure she can still see him if she wants to, and begins sawing again, after a moment Ruby tearfully asks "how could he do that? How could he sit and tell a little girl that he raised since birth as his own, that those things are happening to her sister, and that a stranger is going to come do it to her, and then tie her to a chair naked and leave her there?"

"I don't know, I can't imagine how anyone thinks about such things, it's sick, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you got shitty taste in men lady, but at least he's gone for good now." Quinn tells her.

"What? Gone for good? What do you mean?" Ruby asks sounding panicked.

"Diwali bought him out of the farm and banished him, me and Eliot made sure he isn't ever coming back after he shot your father in the leg, we weren't gonna let him get away with anymore" Quinn explains.

"But what will I do? How will I cope with the farm on my own?" She asks starting to sound tearful again.

As the rope parts, and Quinn moves up to the wrist he originally started cutting at, he takes her hand, and says soothingly "you're not on your own, you have all the hands who already work here, and I'm sure you can find a couple more if you need them, to do whatever work Jared did, you've got your father, Jayda's gonna be here for a while at least, which means Eliot will be, which means Parker and Hardison will be too, and I'll probably stick around for a while until a new job comes along, so you'll have all of us here with you, plus you've got the tribe and pack, no ones gonna leave you to suffer, we'll all help where we can ok?" All the while stroking her hand and wrist gently "now lets get you out of here as quick as we can, and when you're both dressed we'll take you over to Jayda's to see Sarah and Eliot"

He saws aggressively at the rope, getting through it in about half the time it took for each of her ankles, once one wrist is free she holds the sheet against herself with that hand, inadvertently enhancing his view of her figure, as the sheet presses tightly against her curves, it also brings attention to the streaks of red soaking through the pale coloured linen, forcing Quinn to ask "how badly hurt are you? I've trained as an emergency medic, once I've cut the last rope I'll look at the wounds for you"

"No! It's ok! it's nothing serious or that needs looking at, it'll be fine after a cold shower" she protests immediately pulłing the sheet even tighter around herself.

"You know you don't have to lie to protect him anymore, right? The wounds have bled enough to stain your sheet, they should be looked at, if it's 'cause it's me and you don't know me, then your dad's here, or at a push you can wait until we're at Jayda's, and have either Parker or Eliot look at them if that makes you feel safer" Quinn tells her kindly while stroking her last secured wrist before starting to saw and hack at the rope quickly.

"It's not that, I... I don't want anyone to see..." she stammers out.

"See what?" Quinn asks.

"The scars from where he's done things like this before" she says looking away from Quinn in shame "he was hurting Sarah, scaring Jane and hurting me, and I let him keep doing it, hid it from people because I was scared and ashamed, what kind of mother am I? I was fighting Eliot to bring Sarah back here to suffer more of the same, when she was finally safe with him! I'm terrible!" She cries, hiding her face in her hand, once Quinn gets the other hand free he gently guides her into his arms and allows her to cry against his shoulder, while she cries he slowly runs his hand up and down her bare back, soothing her and checking her back for injuries at the same time.

"It's ok to be scared, we all do things we regret, and it doesn't make you a bad mom, you were just trying to give your girls a stable home, but you're free now, and so are they, none of you need to live in fear or pain any longer, they have a home, a mother who loves them and family and friends surrounding them, and most importantly, your abuser will never return, it's a whole new start." Quinn reassures her, still running his fingertips slowly up and down her bare spine.

"You should let me look at these wounds, you've told me what to expect, there's nothing to be ashamed of or to hide from me now, let me check you're alright or I'm just gonna worry" he tells her looking into her face and quirking a half smile at her.

"Ok, just.... please don't judge me.... that I let him do these things..." she asks meekly.

"You didn't LET him do these things, were you tied up every time? Yeah? Well that doesn't sound like someone having much of a choice in the matter to me, and I won't judge you, I've met the bastard, I figured out what he's like all on my own" Quinn tells her as she lays back and nervously pulls the sheet to one side, showing him the slices along her ribs and over her stomach.

Quinn examines each one carefully, only touching when he has to, the cuts along each groove between her ribs, done in such a way that if you stitched them, they'd tear the moment the patient took a full deep breath, but they weren't really deep enough to warrant stitches anyway, the pattern of slashes over her stomach, and it turned out breasts, seems to be random and of varying depths, there are a couple of points that need a single stitch or maybe two just to close the wound, but they're all on her stomach, which will be awful to heal but at least she wouldn't have a puckered scar on one of her breasts.

"Is this all of them?" Quinn asks, and he would have known straight away from her expression that there's more, even if he hadn't already seen a glimpse.

"The others are... lower?" She says, obviously nervous.

Trying to relax her Quinn strokes her cheek and says "if you don't want me to look I won't, but some of these so far need a couple of stitches, and I'd hate to miss one that needs the care, so is it ok with you that I check?"

Ruby bites her lip hard and then looks up at Quinn "ok, but please be careful, I hurt a lot" she says pulling the lower half of the sheet off to the side.

From her knees to her hips are a constellation of small puncture wounds all varying in depth and size, the largest being just shy of a centimetre across, then others of varying sizes getting smaller and others looking like they've been done by a tiny needle, about half would need one or two stitches to close them, but then there was the worst wound, across Ruby's hairless mound in jagged, angular, slashy letters was the word _JARED'S_ , cut deep enough she was guaranteed to have at least a pale scar there permanently to remind her of what he had done to her, and that was definitely going to need stitches.

"Alright, your legs are gonna need occasional stitches like your stomach, but more of them, the other wound definitely needs quite a few stitches, now would you rather have me, your father or Eliot do those for you?" Quinn asks, giving her choices about who would touch her and where.

"I'd like you to do it please Quinn" she whispers, feeling very self conscious about it, but not wanting her father to see, and feeling that having her sister's man do it was just weird.

"Ok, you got a first aid and suture kit?" Quinn asks, stroking the pulse point on her nearest wrist in a calming gesture, once he knows where to look Quinn goes to the bedroom door, and out into the hallway where he finds Diwali sat on the floor with Jane in his lap, speaking in a language he's never heard before, they break off and look up at him expectantly.

"She's gonna be fine but I need to give her a few stitches, it's nothing serious, just better to be safe, why don't you get Jane dressed and take her over to Jayda's? As soon as I've finished helping Ruby we'll come over in her truck, is that ok?" Quinn asks.

"Why are you the one being entrusted with my daughter's care? Why am I not performing her medical care?" Diwali asks a little suspiciously.

"Because I asked him to" Ruby says from behind Quinn, she's wrapped herself in the sheet and staggered to the bedroom door to reassure her father and daughter that she was ok.

"Hey!" Quinn says as she wobbles before putting his arm around her waist to hold her steady.

"Sorry" she says to Quinn as she leans into him, before turning back to her father "take Jane to see Sarah and Eliot and relax a little, Quinn will see to my wounds and we'll be straight over, probably less than a half hour behind you ok?"

"If that's what you wish daughter, if you need me just call, alright?" Diwali says, leaning over to kiss her forehead before ushering Jane into her room.

As Quinn turns them back into Ruby's room she whispers to him "I can't walk back to the bed, I stood on some glass getting over here and now I can't put my foot down"

Quinn looks at her, shakes his head gently and then carefully sweeps her into his arms and carries her back over to the bed, placing her softly onto the comforter before smiling at her and going to get the emergency care kit from the bathroom.

Once he returns he decides to start at the wound in her foot as it's bleeding quite badly, he sits on the foot of the bed, opening the kit and laying it in the centre of the bed, he searches in it and finds some sterile tweezers, places them to one side and gets out all the gauze and bandages he'll need and the small suture kit just in case, then he gently lifts her foot and rests it on his own knee, which he's raised up to hold her foot in the right place.

Once he has everything ready, Quinn looks up at Ruby and gives her a reassuring smile before saying "this is probably gonna hurt, I'm sorry" and picks up the tweezers, as he does she takes hold of the blankets around her ready to pull at them if the pain is too much.

She nods to Quinn and he goes straight to the large piece of glass he can see protruding from the arch of her foot, he takes a firm grip with the tweezers and slowly pulls it out, once he's dropped it to one side he puts down the tweezers and puts on gloves, he then slowly feels around and then over the cut to see if there are any shards still inside, once he's as sure as he can be that there are none in there he decides to do those stitches first, and if they don't work out then redoing them would be one job that would be better left to Diwali, so he stitches, dresses and pads the wound and bandages the foot.

Next Quinn moves the sheet off her legs, whilst still preserving her modesty, and starts cleaning each of the holes in her legs, eventually when they're all clean, stitched and bandaged, Quinn looks up at Ruby, and smiles again before standing up and leaning over her to move the kit up the bed before reseating himself next to her hip.

"I'm gonna do your belly and chest now, ok?" Quinn asks, stroking down her nearest arm.

"Can we take a minute? This is hurting more than I expected" she answers flashing a cross between a smile and a grimace at him.

"Ok, what do you wanna talk about while we wait?" Quinn asks hoping the distraction will help her.

"How did you end up doing this job?" She asks, curious about this handsome man who has come to rescue her.

"This particular job or being a hitter in general?" He asks, wondering why she's asking about him.

"Both" she answers smiling at him a little shyly.

"Ok, well I'm here on this job because the team needed someone to keep them safe while Eliot was injured, he wanted it to be someone he trusted, who he knew could do the job, so he called me." Quinn starts before Ruby asks questions.

"How does he know you could do this? Or are all hitters aware of each other's abilities? And how come he trusts you?" She says.

"Well he knows what I can do because the first time we met we were on opposing sides on a job, and i broke two of his ribs, not something many people can manage, so he knows from experience how good I am" Quinn tells her, as he speaks he starts cleaning the lowest slash on her stomach carefully.

"As for all hitters being aware of each other, the best ones are, and those with bad reputations tend to become well known before someone takes them out, for instance I knew Eliot through experience but i'd only heard of Jayda through reputation, her reputation as the best apart from Eliot, and she scares the living daylights out of me" he tells her smiling.

"Now you might be wondering how Eliot came to trust me after I broke his ribs, but Eliot understands, when you're on a job and you've been paid to do something, you do it, that first time I might have broken his ribs, but he broke mine too and then he knocked me out cold, the next time I saw him, he helped me escape a bad situation, just so he could ask me to work with the team on a con, he paid my usual fee out of his own pocket and owes me a favour I've yet to collect on, after that we worked together quite a bit more, I..... avoided jobs I thought might bring me into direct opposition of the team and we built a friendship, it can be hard to talk about your work when you're a hitter to anyone except another hitter, so it gave us both a pressure valve for when we were getting too angry, wound up or stressed with a job, and we spar, we've taught each other a lot of things sparring, but he's still better than me, just, and now I know about the werewolf thing I can tell myself it's because he has an unfair advantage" he says with a self-deprecating smile.

"Are you ready for the stitches on your stomach now?" He asks, she looks down and can see that all of the cuts have been cleaned on her stomach and breasts, she looks back up at him surprised.

"How did I not notice you doing that?" She asks still looking amazed.

"You were distracted by the story I was telling you about how I met and became friends with Eliot" he tells her with a smile.

"Will you keep talking while you do the stitches?" She requests nervously.

"Sure, you wanted to know how I became a hitter right?" He asks looking up to see her nod "ok well, when I was twenty I joined the military straight from college, served one contract about four years long and then went to work as a mercenary for a few years, but I really hated being in all these really hot places with no real shower facilities, so I started taking jobs that were more like retrievals, K&R, body guarding and security, things where I wore a suit to work rather than camo, and it fit me a lot better, so it's what I stuck with, I'll be honest, while I was finding where I was comfortable drawing my personal lines I did some assassinations, but they're not really my thing, I do carry a gun and I will kill if it's a matter of me or them, but I don't do it on command anymore, I guess being friends with Eliot has improved me in ways other than just my fighting style" he tells her with a shrug "have I scared you off now?" He asks quietly, sounding a little sad.

"No, I've lived with a bad man for fifteen years, I know bad, and you Quinn? You're not bad, I know I'm safe with you, I trust you to take care of this, me, and not to hurt me" Ruby tells him looking into his eyes and starting to blush.

He smiles as he looks back into her eyes, before raising his hand to stroke over her cheekbone where her blush shows the brightest, "you are safe with me, and I won't hurt you, but there's no reason to be embarrassed, I promise"

"I'm not embarrassed" she tells him, her blush deepening as he tips his head slightly to the side thinking about what she could mean.

"Are you ready for this last set of stitches?" He asks, his hand still stroking the side of her face "not quite" she answers, moving to sit up, "could you get me a bottle of water out of the mini fridge over there please?" She asks, pointing to a mini fridge built into a dressing table.

When Quinn sits back down, holding out a bottle of water, she smiles at him as she takes it, as she drinks she leans backwards, tipping her head further and further back, and he can see she's reaching the tipping point, she's gonna fall backwards and either end up wearing the water or hurting herself, so as she starts to tip and her free hand starts waving in the air trying to stop herself from falling Quinn wraps his arms around her back and pulls her up straight again, and right up against him, she puts her free hand on his shoulder and lowers the bottle in the other to one side, then she very slowly, nervously leans into him, pushing her smallish, pert breasts hard against his chest, while his arms tighten around her back her hand moves from his shoulder to the side of his neck and she bites her lip.

Staring into his eyes, seeing no reason to stop herself there, she leans forwards and gently kisses Quinn, chastely but lingeringly, she pulls back enough so that she can see his eyes, looking from one to the other, but she doesn't get a chance to see what he thinks before he's kissing her, less chastely but more passionately than she had kissed him, his lips against hers, moving softly for a few moments before she feels his tongue just barely brush the centre of her bottom lip, asking for entrance gently, when his tongue brushes against her lip a second time she opens to him, allowing his tongue to push her lips further apart, so that he can explore her mouth, after a short time his tongue brushes against hers, teasing and enticing, trying to get her tongue to touch and play and stroke with his, leading her into an intimate dance.

After some time of kissing passionately Ruby leans back against the circle of his arms, he thinks she means for him to stop, that she wants to get away from him, so he slowly backs away from the kiss, but as soon as their lips part she says to him,"what's wrong? Why are you stopping?"

He looks into her eyes, a beautiful shade of amber, and says "I thought it was what you wanted, you were pushing backwards against my arms, I thought you were trying to get away from me"

"Oh no, Quinn, I was trying to lay back down, but I didn't want you to stop kissing me! Please, don't stop" she asks, using the hand on the back of his neck to pull his lips against hers again, where the moment she feels his lips part she opens hers for him encouraging his tongue to come play with hers again, this time when she leans back he follows her down, his arms staying under her and caressing her back and shoulders, as their kiss progresses Ruby drops the water bottle that has been hanging from her fingers onto the pile of shredded clothes on the floor, she uses her now free hand to move the lower part of the sheet covering herself aside, before putting her hand on Quinn's ass and encouraging him to move so that instead of sitting beside her he would be laid half over her, he moves in the way she wants until he is laid covering most of her body with his own, trying to be careful of her wounds and stitches.

She takes hold of one of his wrists, pulling his hand from underneath her, and raises his hand to her breast, the one with the least cuts on it, he pulls back just a little from the kiss to look into her eyes to make sure she is ok and is sure, when he sees her eyes he knows she is, so he deepens the kiss again before cupping his hand around her breast, tickling and teasing at the nipple, running his short nails over the sensitive skin of the underside before returning to torment the nipple more, after a few minutes of this treatment she starts arching up into his body, pushing her breast against his hand harder and causing her thigh to rub gently over his sensitive erection that he'd been trying to keep away from her, at the feeling of his hardness against her leg she gasps, bending her knee further so that she's rubbing against him harder, using her hand on his ass to push him down against her leg, making sure he is getting as much pleasure as possible from her thigh.

After a time of this he pulls back from the kiss, looking down at Ruby who looks like she's been making out in a back seat for _hours_ , and says "we should stop"

"Why? Don't you want this? Don't you want me?" She asks meekly.

"God of course I want you, and I want this, with you, but I still need to give you stitches, and there's not much else we can do right now, most things of this nature are gonna hurt you for at least a few days thanks to that wound" he tells her, stroking down her face and leaning in to kiss her again, showing her how much he wants her.

"But I want to do _something_ together, so long as it's what you want too, and it doesn't matter if it hurts me, it won't be any different from normal" she tells him, avoiding looking at his eyes and staring out of the window instead.

"Well first, your dad is expecting us so unless you wanna call him and tell him why we're taking so long we need to get a move on and second, it bloody well does matter if you're in pain, making love isn't supposed to hurt, well not if you're doing it right, and it matters to me that you not hurt if we're gonna do this together, if it's what you want there's no rush, I'll be here, ok?" He tells her, raising his eyebrows in an 'am I understood?' Gesture.

"So I'll ring Eliot and tell him we'll be a while but not to worry" she answers him, being stubborn.

"And what do you think we'll be doing?" He asks.

"Well you said 'most things' would hurt me, so what wouldn't?" She replies.

"Are you serious? Look, I gotta ask, and please be honest, is this a rebound, or freedom from abuse thing? Or are you looking at me as a potential relationship?" He asks making sure that they're wanting the same things.

"Yes I'm serious, this is not a rebound thing, I'm not looking for a one night stand or a short fling, if I'm going to start a new relationship then I want it to be a proper one, not a joke or just a fuck" she answers giving him the answer he's been hoping for.

"Apart from the slashes that I've already seen did he hurt you anywhere else down there?" He asks gently.

"No, just his claim on me" she tells him, turning her head away in shame.

"Ok, I have an idea of what we can try, if you're really sure you don't want to wait, I promise I'll be sticking around if that's what you're worried about, but it's up to you" he tells her.

"I don't wanna wait Quinn, hey I just realised..... what's your first name?" Ruby asks embarrassedly.

"Oh..... erm Sean" he answers blushing lightly.

"I always liked the name Sean" she tells him looking up through her eyelashes at him, "So are you gonna take that suit off or do you intend to ruin it?" She asks him, grinning.

"Let me move the med case first" he tells her, standing up and then leaning over her to move the med kit onto the floor, before removing his jacket and hanging it over the back of the dressing table chair, quickly followed by his waistcoat vest and by his shirt, and then toeing off his shoes and socks, luckily he was in a place where there was no glass on the floor between him and the bed, he comes over and leans down to kiss Ruby, whose fingers tangle in the tiny, tasteful, cross necklace he always wears, her eyes flicker open and she focuses on the tiny cross, before she looks up at him and smiles as she lets go of it, before pulling him back down for a deeper kiss.

As she starts trying to coax him down onto the bed with her he pulls back and undoes his suit trousers, letting them fall off his hips before picking them up and throwing them over the chair neatly, then he starts to climb onto the bed and nudges Ruby to move across, as she does he settles down on his back, pulling her over him and kissing her deeply, when they both pull back for air he tells her, "promise me that if anything starts to hurt you'll stop or you'll stop me, like I said earlier, making love ain't supposed to hurt, not if you're doing it right, and I want us to be doing it right, is there anything you need to tell me before we start? Medical conditions or anything else that can affect this?"

"You know I had cancer right? That I can't have kids? So if you mean it about a relationship that's something you need to bare in mind, also it.... well it stops me from... you know, getting properly.... excited?" She says stammering and blushing as she goes along, Quinn's fingers trailing slowly up and down her spine.

"What exactly does that mean? Just so I know what to expect" he asks, hating to make her explain but needing to know so he doesn't hurt her.

"I don't get... well, I don't get turned on properly, I don't get wet, I'm broken" she says, sounding sad and defeated at the end.

"You're not broken, you just need a little patience and maybe a little lube, but that can happen to anyone, there's nothing to be ashamed of or upset about, we'll give it a try and see how it goes ok?" Quinn reassures her, his hand moving down to her ass and pulling her tight against his hip, and as he starts to kiss her again, teasing her tongue and stroking her mouth with his own, she starts to rub herself against his hip lightly, but after a few minutes he can feel her breath hitching every time she moves and he knows that it's hurting her to rub her wounded mound against the fabric of his boxers, yet still she carries on, obviously aroused by him and wanting him to know it.

As he continues to kiss her he moves the hand resting on the side of her neck down past her breast, gently trailing his fingers over her ribs, being careful not to press too hard against her wounds, until he reaches her hip, stroking the skin along the seam where her thigh joins her body, slowly bringing his fingers further inwards towards her mound with each stroke, when his fingers brush against the side of her mound she gasps so harshly she has to pull back slightly from their kiss, breathing deeply.

"Is this ok?" Quinn asks, wanting to make sure he hadn't hurt her "did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine, you didn't hurt me, it just.... it feels so good, so intense, and you're barely touching me yet, and I want you to, I need you to touch me, to make me feel whole" she begs him.

He looks up at her, feeling a possessive heat uncurling in his belly that he's never felt before, he leans up and captures her lips in a soft, gentle kiss while he brings his fingers inwards, stroking over the centre of her mound, fingers moving downwards to part her lips and gently stroke over her blood-engorged clit, making her moan quietly and tip her head back, breaking their kiss, but putting her in the right position for him to kiss, lick, bite and suck at her neck, and as he rubs his teeth gently over the tendon in her neck she moans again, long and loud.

At the sound of her moan he moves his fingers backwards to her entrance, feeling her damp but not _wet_ he gently rubs one finger around the edge of her entrance, stimulating and teasing her, encouraging her body to release her natural lubricant into her hot channel, so that he can use it to rub her clit more comfortably and pleasurably, before sinking his fingers inside of her, so he can try to get her off so she'd relax more for him and get even wetter.

After a short time of him swapping between rubbing her now protruding clit and rubbing around her entrance, her hand that was resting on his chest supporting her starts sliding downwards, once she reaches the waistband of his boxers, she gently runs her fingernails along the strip of skin just above it, before bringing her hand down to rest over his hard dick and massage his stiff flesh gently through the cotton of his shorts, as she does he groans low in his throat, making his mouth vibrate against her pulse point where he was carefully, ever so gently biting and sucking at her neck, it stokes his arousal, making him more desperate to feel her wetness, the next time he moves to rubbing around her entrance he starts to dip his fingers inside her lightly and gently, moving deeper within her with each stroke, until he comes up against a ring of tight muscle blocking his path, he starts stroking around the edge of this muscle, figuring that if sex has always hurt her she's so tight over fear of the pain, and that might be why she 'doesn't get properly wet', it's all trapped inside her.

"Ruby, have you ever had sex that didn't hurt?" He asks stroking her face with his free hand.

"No" she says quietly, hiding her face into his neck in shame.

"Do you trust me not to hurt you?" He asks, hoping she does.

"Yes, Sean I trust you, you've been nothing but gentle and loving with me" she answers, smiling at him.

"Ok, baby I need you to try to relax, your body, as a defence against painful sex, has this set of muscles that tighten down, yours are so tight I can't get my fingers into you, and they're holding your wetness inside, so I need you to try to relax, but if you can't it's ok, we'll just get ourselves sorted out and go to Jayda's, and we'll make love once you're ready ok?" Quinn tells her, trying not to make her feel like it was something bad.

"But I _want_ this!" She cries frustratedly "I actually _WANT_ to do this, I'm not just enduring it!"

"I know, but you've gotta relax and not try to push yourself further than your body is ready to go, you'll just make it worse if you try to force it" he tells her, burying the feelings of anger her statement causes, he can deal with that later, before kissing her neck and nipping at her ear seductively.

He pulls his hand out from between her legs, gripping her hip so that he can roll her completely on top of him, his hand moving instantly to her ass ready to encourage her to move, but she doesn't seem to know what to do to position herself over him, and he gets the sinking feeling it's because she's never been in this position before, never been on top or in control, so he slides his hand down her leg instead, slowly bringing it up to rest beside his hip on the bed, she quickly catches on and brings her other leg up on his other side, making him smile up at her, he gently guides her into sitting up, meaning her now fully erect and protruding clit comes into contact with his still-covered cock head, and she takes a deep gasp in at the sensation, he moves his hands to her hips and smiles at her again, then pushing her back slightly before pulling her forward in a rocking motion, the movement makes her lower lips spread so that his cock is nestled along the length of her slit, and once they're fully aligned she starts to tentatively rock backwards and forwards along him, rubbing her hard clit along his length as she slides the cotton of his boxers with her against his skin, driving him mad, they carry on like this for a while, her riding and grinding against the length of his cock, him writhing underneath her, giving her total control over both of their pleasure.

As she moves Ruby starts to feel something she's never experienced before, a shooting, tingling feeling, travelling outwards from her clit, a feeling that seems to be building a pressure inside of her, it feels so good that she's desperate for more, she starts grinding down harder on Quinn, making him gasp at the friction on his sensitive cockhead, hearing his gasp making her all the more sensitive, the tingling feeling rising in her and twining with the feeling of pressure, and she suddenly feels like she's stood on the edge of a cliff, and then the feeling changes, as if she's jumped over the edge, flying, falling and _**exploding**_ outwards all at once, her whole body tingling, zapping, shaking and clenching, she cries out his name, this feeling so new and exciting yet scary, it's the most intense physical pleasure she's ever felt and she wants more, she wants it to never stop, and as awareness of herself comes back to her she realises she's _wet!_ The fabric between her and Quinn is dripping! For a moment she worries she's wet herself, until she registers what Quinn is saying to her.

"Oh god, yes Ruby baby, so hot, riding me til you cum, so sexy for me!" He tells her making her blush and think about how much better it might be, if she can relax, she leans forwards, plastering herself along his chest to whisper in his ear "I want you, and I think you might be able to have me now" before nipping his ear lobe and then a row down his neck.

While she is leaned forward over him, giving attention to his throat, he lifts his hips and works his boxers down, leaving himself exposed to the cool air, helping to calm him by soothing the heat of his blood-filled, over stimulated cock, however her words whispered breathily in his ear were quickly negating that relief.

"You want more? You're sure?" He asks not wanting to push or force her into it with what he suspects her history with sex is.

"Yes, god yes! Make me feel even better this time Sean!" She begs, trusting in him completely.

"Ok sweetheart, let me touch you" he says, his arm tightening over her back so that he can slip his fingers into her from behind, when his fingers touch her wetness they both moan, her at the feeling of fingers coated in her own juices sliding against her most intimate places, and him at how wet she is for him, how much she trusts him, to let him make love to her, her trust was the strongest aphrodisiac he'd ever encountered!

His fingers slide around the back of her hole, stroking at her before dipping in and stroking her inner walls, with each pass his fingers dip deeper, until he's at the point where her muscles stopped him before, this time they allow him entrance, she is still very tense, making her tight, but she is opening to him as he caresses her, gently and slowly, as she gasps and pants above him.

"Please Sean, please take me! I need to know what it's like when it's loving and _good_ " she begs, making him even more desperate to do exactly that.

Sliding his fingers out of her he brings his hand around to between them, pushing her up a little so he can wrap his fingers around his cock, and push it backwards to make it stand up and start rubbing along her slit, coating himself completely in her fresh juices before aligning himself with her entrance and saying to her "when you feel ready, just slide backwards onto me, but if it gets uncomfortable or begins to hurt stop and tell me ok? I really don't want you hurting because of me" as he finishes speaking he leans up to kiss her, sliding his tongue into her mouth and caressing her all over.

As he's kissing her she slowly starts to move backwards onto his cock, he easily slides in the first inch, feeling her wetness around him, driving him insane, because he knows it's the first time she has ever been wet, for anyone, before she slides backwards another inch and he can feel where those tight muscles are, just starting to squeeze around the head of his dick teasingly, he gently, only slightly, rocks his hips up nudging himself in a tiny bit more, then suddenly his head is past the tight muscles and he can feel them fluttering along the shaft of his dick as she gains more confidence and pushes back harder, sliding down his length until he's fully inside of her and she's sat up on him holding onto his hands for balance.

She's sitting on him and staring at him with wide eyes filled with wonder, and he smiles softly up at her asking "feel good?"

"Yes..." she whispers out, obviously not knowing what to say.

"Come here" he tells her, pulling on her hands making her lean down over his chest again and kiss him, pushing her breasts hard up against his pecs and sliding partway off his dick, tightening rhythmically as she moves, as she lays over him, kissing him as if she was about to devour him, he grips her hips, holding her in place as he slowly thrusts into her and then grinds his pelvis against her, rubbing her clit and her sensitive inner lips between them, making her break their kiss so that she can cry out in pleasure.

She pulls herself up again and he guides her, moving her hips to have her raise up along his rigid cock, sliding along his length while her muscles pulse in pleasure around him, then sliding back down until he's fully sheathed in her, grinding upwards against her again before guiding her hips to rock backwards and forwards on him, giving her full control over the stimulation on her clit, so that he can raise his hands to her breasts, stroking and caressing their still mostly smooth skin, and he hates to see the marks of her abuse upon her, he was so determined to show her how it should be, pleasurable and loving, a mutual joy.

Again she leans forward over him to speak into his ear "I want you to be in control, show me that submitting doesn't have to hurt, I want to be under you" she nearly whispers, before licking around the shell of his ear with the very tip of her tongue, driving him wild.

He quickly wraps one arm around her back tightly and rolls them, Ruby coming to rest on her back with Quinn laid over her, between her legs, still buried deeply within her, and she makes a surprised sighing sound, he hopes because either it felt good or she was impressed (he wasn't above stroking his own ego when the opportunity arose), he takes hold of one of her hands, interlinking their fingers and moves it up to around head height pinning it there gently and using that arm for support, before starting to kiss her passionately, stroking her tongue with his own and occasionally nipping at her lips or the tip of her tongue, the other hand he uses to pull her knee up higher, opening her more and changing their position slightly, making his entry deeper and rubbing up against all her sensitive spots with each thrust.

He lowers himself so that his hard, muscular chest is pressed again her soft, sensitive breasts as he starts to carefully thrust into her, not wanting to hurt or overwhelm her, but soon gaining confidence from the cries of pleasure she is letting out with every thrust into her he makes, she pulls at his shoulders and presses down with her heel on his ass, encouraging him to go harder and faster, and as his thrusts speed up so do his kisses, he eventually tears his lips away from hers just to bury his face in her neck and start nipping at her.

"Please stop" she gasps out, sounding upset, and Quinn stops moving and pulls his head up looking into her eyes before asking "have I hurt you?" Letting go of her leg and bringing his hand up to cup her cheek.

"No, it's just.... just, He always liked to bite my neck, leave visible marks to show who I belonged to, I think it was just something he thought he had to do because the wolves do it to show who their Mate is, and he didn't want to seem 'less of a man' to them, it always hurt so much, like he was trying to _scar_ me" she tells him, making him angry all over again.

"I'm just nipping a little to show my passion, not to mark you, although I can't promise none of them will leave a mark, but if you want me to I'll stop, I don't want to hurt you or do anything that you don't want, ok?" He tells her, his thumb brushing her cheek gently.

"I want you to be you, not hold back because of bad things in the past, but if you could keep it to occasional nips but mostly kisses would that be ok?" She answers him, even if it did sound more like a question.

"Course it's fine" he whispers, kissing her deeply while resuming moving within her, making sure to grind against her after every stroke, wanting to make sure she got off from this, after a few thrusts he moves his hand back down to her knee, pulling it up until it's beside his waist, then twisting his hand around her leg until it's under her knee and he can slide his arm under, until her knee rests at his elbow, tipping her hips up so that he's as deeply inside her as it's possible to be.

He slowly builds speed, stopping every few thrusts to grind onto her clit, and before long he's hammering into her to a litany of "yes, there, more, harder, oh yes, God, Sean, _please_ " he finally feels her begin to tighten rhythmically around him, each squeeze getting tighter and tighter, making his balls draw up, he knows this is going to be the equivalent of a photo finish between them, he just prays she'll cum first, he really doesn't want to let her down, or show himself up for that matter, they'd both worked too hard to make this work, he tips her hips just a little more and she suddenly tightens down on him excruciatingly hard as she throws back her head and screams out her pleasure and her release, as soon as her muscles loosen a little he follows her over the edge, scraping his teeth over the ridge of her collarbone, but not biting, then burying his face into her neck and breathing harshly onto her skin, slowly he pulls his head back so that he can kiss her with just as much passion as before, as he pulls back out of her, holding both sides of her face in his hands he lays down carefully on top of her, just kissing her and occasionally rubbing his hips against hers.

After a short while of this he rubs against her again and gets a hiss of pain from her, he does a full-body pull back, up onto his elbows and knees asking "what happened? How did I hurt you?"

"You didn't hurt me exactly, but you've been rubbing your hairs against the cuts and it's been starting to get a little tender, but then your... _you_ rubbed over me and I think the discomfort was caused by the salt in your cum, it stings" she explains to him, looking a little embarrassed.

"Oh! I'm sorry baby, I should've thought" he says leaning forward slightly to kiss her in apology "I'll get the cuts cleaned off and stitched, we've already taken way longer than we should have... did you call Eliot?" He asks suddenly.

"Oh fuck! I forgot! I was so wrapped up in being with you and getting you to strip and get into bed that it completely went out of my head, do you have a phone with you? I'll use it to call him" she says looking a little panicked.

"Yeah just a second" Quinn answers hopping up from the bed and getting his phone out of his jacket pocket, handing it to her as he pulls up his boxers.

"Would you rather have some clean, brand-new ones?" Ruby asks, smirking at his grimace as the wet material sticks to his skin.

"You have some?" He asks a little sceptically.

"Yeah, they were bought for Jar.... him but they've not been used, they're just in that chest of drawers next to you, top drawer still in the packet" she tells him pointing at the chest of drawers just outside the closet.

"Thanks, now make that call before your dad comes back and shoots me!" Quinn says, only half kidding.

She nods at him, rolling her eyes as she dials Jayda's house number, it's picked up almost immediately.

"Hello?" Eliot growls out.

"Hey it's Ruby, we just...." Ruby gets out before Eliot is speaking over her.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS? Diwali's been goin' _mental_ here, you told him you'd only be half an hour!" He blurts out.

"We're not gonna be too much longer, just one more set of stitches to do, how long has it actually been?" She decides to ask.

" _Two and a half hours_ , and it don't take that long to do stitches, so what have you two been up to?" He demands quietly but forcefully.

"Do you really need to ask? Surely you can put the pieces together Eliot, I know you're nowhere near as dumb as you like most people to think" she tells him.

"Your sister is missin' and bein' tortured and you're wastin' Quinn's time havin' _sex_?" He hisses into the phone venomously.

"Don't you dare say we were wasting time! You know nothing about it! And it's not like you two didn't hop into bed when it was my daughter missing!" She spits out at him, her voice raising to a near-shout, grabbing Quinn's attention from where he was just pulling his shirt on and tucking it into his pants.

"What's wrong?" Quinn whispers to her, but instead of an answer from the tearful woman he's given his phone back, still connected to Eliot.

"...ne of your business!" Eliot's ranting in a whisper as Quinn puts the phone to his ear.

"El? What the fuck is happening? Ruby calls to let you all know we're ok and just running a bit later than planned and now you're whisper shouting and she's crying, seriously what the fuck dude?" Quinn asks.

"Look man, Diwali was startin' to panic that somethin' had happened to his other daughter while you two were too busy screwin' around to call, he is beside himself, and although I kept tellin' him you'd keep her safe even I was startin' to worry, and it's pissed me off that you guys were up to that while Jay's being tortured somewhere and we should be lookin' for her, not to mention Ruby's husband has been gone all of four hours, you couldn't have waited?" Eliot says in one long go, barely pausing for breath.

"Didn't Diwali or Jane tell you what was happening here? That he'd left them both tied up naked here with no heating, that they'd been tied up since Ruby came back without Sarah the morning after you were shot, and that he'd carved up Ruby's body, not too badly, but enough she needed lots of stitches between her knees and her breasts, and that he carved his name across her mound deep enough she's gonna always have his name scarred onto her for life?, so forgive me for not waiting, but he didn't matter enough to stop me and she's important enough to make me glad I did it, even if you and I were to fall out over it, that's not what I want, but she's _special_ , ok?" Quinn replies.

"They didn't tell me that, I've been cookin' not talkin', I didn't know what that bastard had done, I'm sorry Quinn, friends? And.... are you fallin' for her?" Eliot asks carefully.

"Of course we're still friends, and well... maybe, I think so, yeah, she's just so special, all I wanna do is protect her and yeah.... love her" Quinn confesses to Eliot, not seeing the look that Ruby gives him.

"Look I've gotta do these last stitches and then we'll be over ok? I promise" Quinn says waiting for a reply from Eliot before hanging up.

Once he's put his phone in his pocket he turns to Ruby with a small smile "lets get this cleaned and stitched and then go see your girls, ok?" He says, pushing her to lay back down so he can clean the last wound off.

"Tell me about yourself Sean Quinn, tell me where you come from, make me forget what you're having to do" Ruby requests quietly.

Quinn takes a deep breath and begins cleaning the wound at the same time he starts talking.

"Well, my family were originally from Ireland but my parents were born in England, so was I, when I was about ten they moved us to New York for work and sent me to a boarding school, which I hated, but I excelled at my studies, it's a lot easier to do so when you have no friends and no distractions like girls, tv, boys, whatever might steal your time and attention, my parents were killed in a car crash when I was seventeen, I had already passed my graduation requirements so I decided to graduate immediately, just to get out of the damned place, I went onto college and again due to a lack of distractions, no girls, no boys, no friends, no fraternity, I finished my masters in art and art history in three years, before going on to join the military as soon as I graduated." He tells her, it's more than he's shared about himself with anyone in about ten years, and at the thought he reaches up to touch his tiny cross.

Taking another deep breath before starting her stitches Quinn continues "I've told you the rest after that, so how about random trivia? My favourite colour is blue, in sapphire shades, I don't like dogs much but I love cats, my favourite food is probably Chinese, and I can't stand food that's over spiced, you know like all heat no flavour? I love anchovies on pizza, and hate olives, I like English food but hate the weather there, I'm really bad about being responsible for things like my carbon footprint, buying ethically sourced, free range or organic items, I love having my hair washed, brushed and played with, it puts me to sleep so easily, I'm totally addicted to Dr Pepper, I like real butter and full fat milk, I love being in a place with big windows during a thunder storm, so that I can watch the lightening, and it always makes me excruciatingly horny, I really dislike tacos, especially fish tacos, lets see what else?.... I've got no kids, erm,... although my job is dangerous and I've come close I've never been shot, yet, I like to watch figure skating when the Winter Olympics are on, I play chess, but not very well, I like playing softball but don't get the chance, I've never smoked or taken drugs that weren't prescribed, I have nightmares, really bad ones, I'm a master of three very different martial arts, I love coffee, coffee is god! I can ride a horse but I'm not sure how to care for one properly..."

"What does your necklace mean to you? If you don't mind me asking?" Ruby interrupts with her question "you can just say it's private if you're not ready to tell me"

Quinn looks at her, raised up on her elbows slightly, with her head tilted a little to one side, looking curious but understanding "it belonged to someone special who passed away, I've never taken it off since" he answers looking away.

"I'm sorry you lost someone else you loved, after your family, you didn't deserve it, well no one deserves it, but especially not you" she says stroking down his arm.

"The guy who murdered them thought I did." Quinn answered, sounding bitter.

"It wasn't a woman who was killed was it?" She asks tentatively, being very aware that she's pushing and he might not want to answer, he had chosen to be vague after all.

"No it wasn't,..... he..... he meant to me what I'm beginning to feel you're going to" Quinn answers tactfully.

"You loved him? He was your lover?" She asks just to be certain.

"Yeah, he was called Iain, we were together for six years, he died just over four years ago, between the first and second times I met Eliot, he's part of the reason I accepted Eliot's offer to come work with him, it's like he lead me to you the long way round" he says, starting haltingly but by the end smiling at her.

"You're done" he tells her, surprising her, she hadn't even realised he'd been doing the stitches really, she looks down to see tiny stitches along the wound, he's obviously done everything he can to minimise the size of the scars.

"Thank you, you should do this for a living" she tells him.

"Sometimes I feel as if I do with Eliot around" he smirks in return.

"I want to just stay here alone with you, but I know we should find me some clothes and get going" she says sadly.

"Well I'll be coming back with you tonight, assuming you want me to" Quinn tries cheering her up with the news.

"Of course I want you to! It's just, this has been so fairytale like, you come in here and rescue me, make me feel things I've never felt before, and then make love to me without it hurting, something I thought couldn't happen, it's like some love story come to life! And I don't want it to end or have the real world interrupt" She tells him, putting her arms around his neck and kissing him.

"But the real world is where we are, the only thing that'll be different tonight is your children will be home too, or at least Jane will be" Quinn tells her, cupping her face with both hands and kissing her just as passionately as he had before making love to her.

"What do you mean only Jane?" She asks, worrying that Eliot has plans to keep Sarah after all.

"I think you might have a hard time prying Sarah away from Eliot, Jared pretty much told her Eliot's her real father, and she's decided that she's calling him daddy, most likely because of how Jared treated her in comparison to how Eliot does, she seems to really love him, and she's an amazingly talented artist too, by the way" Quinn tells her, reassuring her that Eliot has no plans to take her daughter, but telling her that her daughter might be heartbroken when Eliot tells her he doesn't want her.

"Don't worry, Eliot always does the right thing, he's not gonna take her away from you" Quinn tries to reassure her, engulfing the small woman in a huge hug "let's find you some clothes and go see them both ok?"

"Yeah, ok" she replies, standing as he does.

"No, you stay sat there and tell me where to look, you've already cut your foot once" he tells her guiding her to sit back down before asking "so where do I look for underwear?"

"Top drawer in the dressing table, if he left any unshredded, he insisted on my always wearing silky, slinky knickers and then accused me of being a whore because it was what I always wore, funny right?" She says with a self deprecating chuckle.

"Not really, but typical of the type of control freak he is, kinda makes me wish i'd killed him when I got the chance, before he could do this to you" Quinn answers distractedly while he searches, eventually coming up with a deep sapphire blue pair of French knickers "hey look! He left you my favourite kind of knickers in my favourite colour, kind of him, eh?"

"Figures he'd leave them, he hated them, always said they covered too much, he liked the skimpy barely there kind. I'm glad he left me some you like" she answers smiling shyly.

"Are you wanting a bra? I would suggest against it with those wounds on your ribs" he asks wanting her to feel secure but also not hurt herself further.

"No, there should be a chemise in there that matches, buried a little deeper" she says just as he says "aha! Found it" and comes over to give them to her.

"You need any help getting them on?" He asks considerately.

"No, I'm fine" she says smiling flirtatiously up at him.

He smiles back and asks "jeans and top?"

"Yeah, jeans in the closet and there should be a giant grey woolly sweater in there too" she instructs, watching his ass move in his suit pants as he goes into the closet.

"What colour jeans?" He calls out of the closet.

"Black" she answers knowing her black jeans are a little looser and will be more comfortable.

"Here you go, boots?" He asks.

"Most likely the ones by the front door will have survived, I hope" she answers, as she pulls on her jeans and drags the sweater over her head, making him laugh because it really is _giant_ , it comes to her knees and the sleeves cover her hands and then some.

"Ready?" He asks as she stands there.

"Yeah, lets go" she answers, as she goes to take a step he stops her, sweeps her up into his arms, kisses her and then carries her to the doorway so that there's no risk of her cutting her feet again, he kisses her again before putting her down and smiling down at her, opening his mouth to speak but then closing it again without saying a word, but she doesn't push him to tell her, she knows he'll tell her when he's ready, so she just smiles back up at him.

Once downstairs they find that her boots by the door are intact and Ruby pulls them on quickly before grabbing her keys and leading Quinn out of the door, she signals to one of the farmhands to come over as she limps to her truck, once he meets them beside it she starts giving him orders.

"Bruce, I need you to change all the locks please, and you'll need to stay here until I get back later tonight, you help yourself to beer or anything else you want from the fridge until then, if Jared comes here you're to call the police immediately and then call Jayda's number to let me know, as of now Jared has been bought out of the farm, he's been paid for his share and is no longer welcome on this property or the tribe lands, being seen on either will be an arrestable offence, if any of the men don't want to work here anymore because of that tell them if they work the week they'll get paid and a great reference, if they can't stand to do that then they get neither, will you be quitting?" She reels out, giving him all the information he'll need before asking his loyalty.

"No ma'am, I'll be stayin' on if you'll be havin' me, I like the work here and I'm mighty fond of my current boss and her daughters" he says, looking Quinn up and down speculatively, before looking him in the eye and saying "I'm mighty protective of all three of those ladies, so no one better hurt them"

At this Ruby puts her hand on Bruce's chest and says "no Bruce, Quinn saved me, Jared's been the one hurtin' me and the girls, look" before lifting her sweater high enough for him to see the slashes across her belly "and that's the least of it" she tells him, staring into his eyes, he nods accepting her guidance and smiles down at her grimly.

"If he comes back he better be loaded for bear" he tells her before tipping his hat at them both and returning to his work.

"And you were worried about running this place alone?" Quinn says, almost laughing at how absurd that idea is after seeing the way she handled the bear of a man.

"Hey! Giving a few simple orders is very different from running the place!" She says, hitting him in the bicep with the back of her hand playfully "you ok to drive? It's just my foot..." she asks looking a little sheepish.

"Sure, no problem, _bruiser_!" He answers taking the keys that are hanging from her fingers and dancing backwards out of her reach in case she goes to smack him again.

Once they're both in the truck he says "I'll need directions ok?" Smiling over at her.

"No problem" she answers "lets go see my family"


	18. And the world is rocked under his feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda receives more punishment then some care from a hidden source, Eliot learns more about Jayda from the years they've been apart, his own history and the history of the tribe and Pack, and Quinn and Ruby grow closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR MENTIONS OF:-
> 
> PAST SPOUSAL ABUSE  
> PAST RAPE  
> TORTURE  
> EXPLAINATION OF CHILD ABUSE - in broad child-acceptable terms
> 
> So I'm writing chapter twenty five right now, my illness has been kicking my ass making both writing and editing hard, so I've slowed down my uploading, I'm really, really sorry to those who've been waiting for a new chapter, but on the plus side this one is really, really long and has some loving in it and I'll try to upload the next one quickly. 
> 
> enjoy Darlin's

JAYDA

As the last slice is put into place around the front of Jayda's neck she takes a deep breath in through her mouth, or at least she tries to, every time her lungs expand past a certain point it makes the scabbed cuts over her belly and ribs split and start bleeding all over again, and every time it happens it _hurts_ , Eric has been very thorough, he is being watched carefully by his boss after all, but the frown never leaves his face, he has turned all of the skin on her front and sides into one inch diamond shaped squares, her hands and feet have smaller diamonds but are just as meticulously covered front and back, top and bottom, now they needed to get at her back, and she has no idea how they're gonna turn her over without her trying to kill her tormentor, but she has a suspicion that they have a plan.

"Well done man! See? good henchmen are easy to find if you know where to look" the voice tells her as she looks up at Eric who grimaces at the comment while his back is to the voice.

"Now turn her over and complete the back" he orders, leaning back in the chair by the sound of the springs protesting.

"Sir? Do you want me to move her while she's awake? You know how dangerous she is and that's before these changes" Eric tells him, rolling his eyes letting her know he was actually following a script, he'd been told what to say meaning the boss already knew what he wanted to do, he just wanted it to seem spur of the moment.

"Hhhhmmmm, yeah.... chloroform the Bitch" he commands, and before she can object Eric does.

"You told her you wouldn't hurt her unborn child, you know that using chloroform would most likely cause a miscarriage" he says, using almost the exact same line she had been about to use.

"I don't care, it's not like she's going to survive that long, and even if she does the foetus will just be used as research cells, not like it'll ever be allowed to draw breath by the scientists anyway" the voice answers, followed by a scream of "NO!!! YOU PROMISED!!!" While Jayda shakes and thrashes as much as the restraints allow, before hearing and feeling a sickening crunch as she uses so much force she breaks her own wrist again against the handcuff, but still not stopping or letting up in her thrashing.

"Do it now!" The voice orders, and in an effort to save Jayda from hurting herself further, Eric chloroforms her.

ELIOT

Eliot is sat with Sarah on his lap talking to Diwali when the door to the house opens and Quinn walks in followed by a limping Ruby, when Jane sees her mother she gets up from the floor and runs to her, having barely seen her earlier and being worried about her ever since arriving.

At seeing this Sarah looks up at Eliot, meeting his eyes and having a silent conversation, reminding him again of how intelligent and adult she is before he nods, smiles a little sadly and gives her a kiss on the forehead before setting her on the ground so that she can go to ruby.

"Hey mommy" she greets her, giving her a gentle hug around the waist as she knows Jared did something to Ruby, even if she doesn't know the details she's smart enough to be careful, Sarah looks up at Ruby and says "I'm sorry I got you in trouble but da.... Eliot needed me to help him get better, I didn't mean for you to get hurt though, I really am sorry" making Ruby bend down to hug her.

"I know sweetheart, it wasn't your fault and you did the right thing, I was wrong to try to get you to come with me when I knew what he might do, but he's gone now, forever, your grandfather, Quinn and your daddy made sure of that" she says and at the last Sarah gasps and then bites her lip, looking fearfully at Ruby, before starting to stammer out an apology to her, but Ruby overrides her saying "I know Jared told you who Eliot is, and I know you're smart enough to have figured the rest out, and probably got Eliot to tell you everything just to be sure, it's ok, and it's ok for you to call Eliot daddy, it's what he is, are you gonna stay with me and Jane or are you staying with Eliot and Jayda?" She asks, just needing to know if she's losing her daughter too.

"I'm coming home with you and Jane, after spending a bit more time with Eliot, if that's ok?" She asks fearing she may be told she can't stay with Eliot anymore.

"That's ok sweetie, I just needed to know if you were still my little girl that's all" Ruby reassures her with smiles and hugs.

"I'll always be your little girl mommy, but I'm Eliot and Jayda's too, that doesn't make you mad or upset does it?" She asks, as always concerned for other people over herself.

"No honey, that doesn't make me mad or upset, I was lucky to have you to myself for as long as I did" Ruby answers smiling at her softly, "now how about we get sat down? I've managed to cut my foot open and it's hurting to stand up for so long"

Quinn takes her arm leading her to an outsized, overstuffed, armchair that's big enough for three adults easily, sitting her in it and taking her boots off her, before settling next to her with his arm around her, announcing silently to the room their newfound, rather sudden, relationship, the two little girls look at each other and Sarah gestures to Jane that she should climb up with them, and once she's up Sarah returns to Eliot, snuggles into his side on the couch while he continues talking to Diwali, cuddling her and occasionally stroking her hair soothingly.

Diwali keeps glancing over to Ruby, Quinn and Jane, often, obviously wanting to talk about what's happening between them, but knowing better than that with how stubborn and independent both his daughters are, in the end Eliot has to say something.

"Diwali, he's not goin' to hurt her" Eliot starts quietly, recognising the looks Diwali is shooting at Quinn "he's a really good guy, who cares deeply when he lets himself, he's really protective and respectful of women, and if he's chosen to be with her then he'll be loyal to her til the day he dies, I promise" Eliot vouches for him.

"But he's not left her time to recover from what has happened, she needs time to learn she can cope alone, and be a strong woman, before falling into any kind of new relationship, she'll just come to rely on him too much and end up getting hurt, again" Diwali replies, obviously not having trust in Ruby's judgement or Eliot's.

"Diwali, I've never seen Ruby look so radiant or happy, have you?" Eliot asks, looking over to where Jane is now on Quinn's lap, talking to both Quinn and Ruby about something animatedly, Ruby smiling and laughing while Quinn tickles Jane gently "look how happy they all are just bein' together, Ruby, Jane and Sarah all feel safe with Quinn, and you know Sarah doesn't trust easily, right bug?" He asks Sarah where she's snuggled against his side, sleepy eyed.

"I like Quinn, he said sorry and took his rings off when he accidentally burned me with them, he's nice" Sarah answers, proving to Diwali that he has made a good impression on his granddaughter, which as Eliot had pointed out was not easy to do.

"Very well, I shall give him a chance, but if he hurts her..." the Shaman starts before Eliot growls over him "then he'll have me and Jay to answer to, I can beat him easily and she terrifies him, he'll stay in line" and Diwali nods at him, an agreement met.

At this point Eliot gets the strangest look on his face and reaches down to start massaging the sole of his foot, starting at his toes and working down the sole.

"What's wrong Eliot?" Diwali asks seeing the expression the other man is wearing.

"My foot just started burnin', first in the toe and then in a line down the sole, it really hurts, but it's not a cramp, I don't know what's causin' it but I hope it stops quickly" he answers rubbing harder at his foot.

"Eliot has something like this happened before?" The Shaman questions him.

"What, pain in my feet?" Eliot asks.

"No, sudden pain or discomfort that appears to have no reason as to its cause?" Diwali clarifies.

"Well, when I woke up durin' the storm I was achin' in .... erm...." he stammers to a halt looking down at Sarah against his side before resuming "I felt like someone had used a fence post to do a prostate exam" he says quietly, trying to get across to Diwali the level and type of pain and where the pain was situated without Sarah understanding.

"Other than that nothin' significant" Eliot finishes, before asking "why Diwali? What do you think is goin' on?"

"Eliot, there are things you should have been told when you were much younger, and I wanted to tell you and Jayda together since it affects her now too, but I think we need to talk about it now, how about we head upstairs and I tell you what I believe is going on?" Diwali tells him, getting a nod from Eliot, Diwali stands and heads towards the kitchen and stairs as Eliot stands.

"Daddy? Where are you going?" Sarah asks looking up at him with big blue eyes.

"Just goin' upstairs, bug, gotta have a talk to your grandfather for a few minutes, I'll be back soon and we'll eat ok?" He asks crouching down to her level even though it makes his foot throb.

"Ok, daddy, don't be long" she says snuggling into the sofa cushions and going to sleep, making Eliot smile down at her before he goes on to follow the old Shaman.

JAYDA

Jayda comes round from being chloroformed strapped face down on the floor, which hasn't been washed, luckily she's not face-first in a puddle of either vomit or cum, just blood visible in front of her face, she knows since she's on the floor there's not much chance of further rape happening for a while, or at least that's what she hopes.

As she tries to move her head slightly the voice starts again.

"About fucking time you lazy cunt! I've been sat here freezing my ass off waiting for you to wake up for hours! But we couldn't have you miss out on the rest of your punishment now could we?"

She groans quietly, wishing she could turn her head away or block him out so badly, his voice grating on her like nothing else ever has, but she's strapped down tight so the best she can do is not answer him and just do her best to ignore him.

"Right! Come on then chop, chop, carry on with the carving of this giant turkey, lets get this finished so I can get out of this stinking hole!" He says, presumably to Eric.

She feels a hand snake around her ankle before gripping relatively gently, she knew that this would be where he started, after a few moments she feels the scalpel press into the skin on the back of her calf, separating the flesh like wet tissue paper, she hisses out as the cut passes over her Achilles' tendon, hoping that they're not intending to permanently hobble her, as being permanently unable to walk? that she couldn't bare.

As the cuts continue, slowly, precisely, working up her legs and body, Jayda lets herself think of Eliot, of the terrible thing she did by robbing him of being a parent to Sarah, she could have looked harder for him when she found out she was pregnant, but she had been so terrified he wouldn't want her after she'd left him, that he'd make her end the pregnancy, and she couldn't have lived with herself if she'd been forced to kill Eliot's child, even if he was the one doing the forcing, she didn't have faith in him like she should have and so didn't look for him properly, something she can never take back, or even apologise for, now that he was gone, something she'd have to live with for as long as she had left to live, however long that might be.

Jayda's brought back to the room she's in by a harsh slap to her newly sliced ass, her whole back is a burning network of slices that match her front exactly, it feels as though they're finished with cutting her, there's nowhere below her neck that feels untouched except the inner areas of her genitals, they'd even sliced over her outer labia to continue the pattern of slices precisely, she makes a questioning noise, the closest she feels like getting to speaking right now and gets an answer immediately.

"Oh! You wanna know what's happening now? Well we're going to wash off the floor, and you, and then I'm going to leave you to my man's tender mercies for a few hours" he telłs her, snickering and smirking towards the end of his declaration, obviously meaning he thinks Eric is gonna abuse her some more but without supervision.

Once he's finished speaking Jayda hears a bucket filling, telling her there was at least a sink down here she might be able to wash in if she can escape, when the tap turns off Jayda braces herself not knowing if the water will be scalding, freezing or anywhere in between, but it's not thrown over her immediately, she hears the bucket being put down and footsteps walking towards the drain, then the cover being lifted, once the footsteps have returned to where the bucket has been set down she hears a click and then a small rushing noise, she couldn't place it but somehow was sure she'd heard it before.

Then she hears the bucket being hefted and tries to brace herself again, but almost instantly she's hit by a boiling hot, salted, mass of water, the heat of the water sears all of her skin both cut and uncut, but the half-dissolved salt in the water seeps into every cut and slice, and as it pools underneath her it soaks into the cuts on her front, agonisingly slowly, making her gasp with the pain from the irritation to her cut and bleeding skin.

While she's been trying to recover from the feelings that the scalding salt bath left her with the bucket has been refilled, almost as soon as the sounds of the tap being turned off reach her ears she's covered in freezing salt water, making the burns from the boiling water _scream_ and her skin feel like it's being pried up by miniature ice lances, and again the salt irritates all the edges of the cuts, this time rather than gasp she mewls, squirming in pain rubbing her front into the salt water that has pooled under her, hurting her front even more.

"Don't like it Bitch? Well too bad for you, you're going to have these 'baths' over the next couple of days, just to make sure everything is seasoned properly" he tells her, somehow thinking he's funny for making a second cooking reference.

There is one more bucket of salted icy water thrown over her before the voice gives a command.

"Undo the straps" he says, making her wonder what's supposed to happen next, does he feel secure enough to undo the straps while she's in too much pain to kneel or stand because of the cuts? Or is the plan something more sinister?

Once all the straps are undone Jayda doesn't know what to do, no matter how she moves she's gonna cause herself agony and she hasn't been given an order so she just stays where she is.

"GET UP YOU LAZY FUCKING BITCH!" Is screamed at her full volume, which is very painful to her newly sensitive hearing.

At the words she forces herself onto her knees, as they come into contact with the floor and have pressure put against them all the slices split apart and separate causing her to bleed from them quite profusely, she scrambles to her feet as quickly as possible, awakening pain from bruises and other abuses suffered in the last few days, plus all the cuts that have opened as she moves, and of course she's stood in saltwater with all the cuts on her feet splitting open, it's bringing a whole new level to her personal definition of _pain_.

Once she's stood, tethered by her swollen, broken wrist to the spike in the floor, the hose turns on, spraying at her shoulders and then working down her back quickly, once she's been sprayed the stream is used to start clearing the bodily fluids from the floor and towards the drain, when the floor looks as clean as it's gonna get without scrubbing an unexpected order is shouted at her freezing, shivering form.

"Wash your hair you animal! You'll be stinking the place up if you don't, wash yourself too while you're at it!" The hose instantly aims at her ass, she uses her free hand to scrub at herself between her legs and her cheeks, rubbing at her thighs desperately, trying to get the feeling of the men off her, then before she's ready the stream of water aims for the back of her head and she does her best to get all of the vomit and blood out of her hair, she turns towards the water even, trying to get all of the blood off her face, but still not feeling clean of it when the water stops.

Jayda wraps her arms around her waist as best she can with the length of the shackle on her left wrist, she's shivering so hard her teeth are chattering even with her jaw clenched tight, and clenching her jaw still aches something fierce after the two punches to the face she took, her hip is a giant black bruise with the shape of a steel toecap clearly outlined right in the middle where the bone is nearest to the skin, the bruise between her shoulders makes moving her back or shoulders so hard to do as it's so stiff, and now the cuts and soaked hair, there was nowhere that didn't hurt on some level, but the constant shivering was making it all unbearable.

"Sir, we can't leave her like this, she'll go into hypothermic shock and die if you do, she needs to be dry, warm and fed if you want her to survive to find you a cure" Eric says, doing his best to protect her in the ways he can.

"No! I want her to suffer!" The voice whines.

"Do you want her dead by morning?" Eric asks, knowing this boss wants her to suffer for a long time.

"Well no..." the voice says reluctantly.

"Then tonight I need to take care of her, or she won't survive" Eric tells him tersely.

"What do you want for her?" Her captor says petulantly.

"Towels to dry off and something waterproof to sleep on so she's not laying on a wet floor, Two thick quilts, one to lay on and one to cover her, a meal of soup and as much bread as she wants, with butter, and as much water as she wants" Eric lists off quickly.

"That's too much, she can't have it all" the voice replies petulantly, thinking he can negotiate down some of the requests, not really understanding that she needs all of the listed items to survive much longer.

"It has to be everything or she'll die, you can't barter down from the minimum for survival" Eric insists.

"Fine! A tarp, some towels, some blankets, some soup, and water, but you're responsible if she causes trouble or gets loose, understand?" He capitulates.

"Yes sir" Eric answers.

"Fine! I'm leaving for the night, I need to be seen in town 'drowning my sorrows due to my grief' I'll be back in the morning, get what you need from upstairs or go to town to buy it, there's a tarp out back next to the woodpile" he instructs before heading towards the door, his footsteps heavy and dragging.

Once the door swings closed Eric comes back into her circle of light, holding out a huge towel to her, which she wraps around her shoulders instantly, he takes her by the shoulders very gently and bends to look into her slightly spaced-out eyes.

"I'm gonna go up get the tarp and some quilts or a load of blankets ok? I'll just be a couple of minutes" he tells her hoping she's with it enough to understand him.

He's back in less than three minutes, and when he walks into the room he instantly drops everything and comes running to her, at some point in those three minutes she's collapsed to her knees, all the cuts are burst open and bleeding and so are her feet where they've been forced to bend as she came down, Eric moves her as far out of the water as her chain allows, with her whimpering when it pulls against her rebroken wrist, once she's moved he fetches the tarp and lays it out, its huge so it covers all of the wet floor and anywhere else she's likely to touch while laid down, he adds a really thick quilt which is so big it must have been made for a super California king bed, it's big enough he can fold it in half and it's still nearly the size of a double bed, once that's laid out he moves Jayda into the centre of the nest he's built her, laying her down on her side, her broken wrist laid out as flat as possible on the quilt and brings the huge pile of quilts and blankets over, before opening them out one by one and laying them over her until she's almost buried in them, as she's been warming up her eyes have become more aware again and she says "may I have some water please?" So quietly he nearly misses it.

"Course you can! here you go" he says holding her head up just enough for her to drink the water, once she's had enough he lays her back down gently, puts the big litre bottle down where she can reach it and tells her "I'm going to go into town and get you some food, what soups do you like?"

"Does it have to be soup?" She asks "i'd rather have a burger or a steak"

"Sorry, you've not eaten for days, that causes all sorts of problems, trust me soup is your best friend right now" he tells her.

"I like chicken noodle, or crab and sweetcorn, maybe minestrone?" She tells him, not really being a fan of most soups.

"Ok, do you like pie?" He ask quietly.

"I'm an American of course I like pie!" She whispers back.

"Well I'll see if I can get you some ok?" He says conspiringly.

"Thank you!" She says, happy at this development.

"Right I won't be long, if those guys come down here you fight them with all you got ok? Don't you dare give up now" he tells her before standing and heading to the door.

After he's gone she snuggles down under the blankets, this is the most comfortable and warmest she's been since she was last in Eliot's arms, and as she thinks that the tears come again, this time silently, without any gasping sobs, just tears running down her face, stopping for a moment when she could swear she hears a howl distantly, but when it doesn't come again she begins to remember the comfort of the arms she's lost and starts crying again, before long she slips into the sleep of exhaustion.

ELIOT

When he reaches the top of the stairs Eliot is surprised to see the door to the nursery open as he knows he left it closed and no one had been up here until Diwali came up.

He comes to the doorway tentatively and clears his throat while staring down at the floor.

"You had seen this room?" Diwali asks him as he stands in the centre of the room.

"Yes, last night, it... felt wrong, an... intrusion, to look in here without Jayda showin' me first so I left" Eliot confesses, still staring at his feet.

"Do you realise what this room means?" The Shaman asks gently.

"That Jayda prepared for a child that never made it to this room" Eliot answers in a thick, rasping voice.

"Well, yes, but that wasn't what I meant, what I meant was that up until the moment she was born Jayda was ready to keep Sarah, if only she could have found you, she wanted this so badly she prepared for it, and even after all these years it hasn't been changed, because it means things to her that no one but you will ever be able to understand, and even then I don't think you'll understand it all, when Sarah was born Jayda refused to hold her, made me give her to Ruby instead, when I asked her later why she had robbed herself of that special moment do you know what she said?" Diwali asks.

"No sir" Eliot answers, eyes on the toes of his boots, tears falling onto them every time he blinks.

"She told me that if she'd taken her, she would have kept her, even knowing how much danger that put her into, and that then, once she had that one small _perfect_ piece of you in her arms, she would BURN THE WORLD TO ASHES to find you, and that if she found you and you turned away, she would burn _you_ to ashes too, and she couldn't deal with that thought in her mind, she was scared of how that felt, even before holding her, and couldn't imagine how it would be after, so she never held her newborn daughter, all for love of _you_ "

Diwali takes in a deep breath before finishing "and that is why this room was never used, she didn't dare"

"The specialists at the hospital have told her she can't have more children, did she tell you that?" He asks

"Yes sir, she told me, but I don't care, I just want to be with her, I love her, I always have" Eliot answers quietly, his words catching in his throat.

"They say that the way I dealt with a problem during Sarah's birth is the reason why, that it caused internal scarring, I don't believe that they're right, I believe it's something they've said to punish her for not giving birth in a hospital, there is damage, but not enough to stop her having more children, I hope one day to see this room used Eliot, with you both here" Diwali tells him, looking up at the broken man stood in the doorway.

"That's what we want too, we'd.... that is... erm... she'd told me about what they said and we'd decided to let nature take its course, and if it happens that'd be great and if not we'd be sad but at least we'd be together, we've kinda.... already started tryin'..." Eliot trails off wondering if he just shared too much with his Mate's father.

"I had guessed as much or the Bonding wouldn't have taken so easily" Diwali states, blowing Eliot away with what to the old man was such a small fact.

"How about we move into the other bedroom to talk, I don't feel right bein' in this room without Jay" Eliot proposes.

"As you wish" Diwali says walking past Eliot and into the other bedroom, where Eliot is infinitely glad he'd changed the sheets last night.

"Please sit down" Eliot says indicating the bed and Diwali obliges him.

"So these strange pains, I'm going to have some questions first before we get around to talking about them, just so I know what the possibilities are, first, obviously I know you have a successful Bond to my daughter, you've never tried to Bond to anyone before?" Diwali asks.

"Sir, to be honest, I don't really know how becomin' Bonded works except that a bite is involved, and even though you told us from a young age that you can't make a human into a were by bitin' them, I have to admit we did try anyway, when we were about ten? My daddy gave me a hidin' for being out with Jay at night again and she said why not try it, so we could run away and be wolves together, it wasn't that she wanted to leave here, she just wanted me safe from my daddy, so I bit her, but nothin' happened, though even after that I've always been real careful never to bite anyone" Eliot tells him.

"Just biting wouldn't have Bonded you to someone, you would need to actually want to be with the person in question, you'd need to be in rut, and ideally having sex for the Bond to take, although usually it has to be done three times in different ruts to make a truly strong Bond, which I have to say you and Jayda seem to have, had you ever bitten her other than that time?" Diwali inquires.

"Well I've never been with someone durin' rut before, ever, I never wanted to be with anyone but Jay durin' rut, i'd go mad tryin' to find her scent every time, it was such a pain in the ass..... as for bitin' her... I didn'..... Oh god," Eliot says hiding his face behind his hand "you're not goin' to like this... once, when we were seventeen, we'd been out runnin', we used to come here to swim in the lake and stargaze, one night we... we kissed and... touched a bit.... we didn't have sex I swear! But when.... erm.... yeah, I bit her, I wasn't thinkin' about it, it was just instinct, and I went into rut the next day" Eliot confesses, expecting to maybe be punched in the face for his past sins.

"So that's two, and you bit her when she came to bring you here?"

"Yes, and that time I met all the requirements" Eliot says blushing so hotly he thinks he might spontaneously combust.

"And it was made an even stronger Bond because you already have a child together, usually the three bites are performed before the conception of the first litter, in fact.... usually the Bond would have to be in place for conception to occur... " Diwali trails off thinking.

"Well, I think I know why you were still single at your age, and why Jayda never got over her feelings for you, you're _Life-Bonded_ , you've been closely Bonded since you were children, it's frowned upon by some but does sometimes happen without anyone realising, neither of you stood a chance of being happy with anyone but each other, I think I might even know exactly when the Bond came to life between you, and that was long before you ever bit her" Diwali informs him.

"So, what? We were fated to be together?" Eliot asks sceptically.

"Not as such, you just... you made yourselves two halves of one whole, for want of a better term, you made yourselves soulmates" Diwali explains shrugging.

"You know the legend of the True Alpha?" Diwali asks.

"Kinda?, I know he's meant to be able to Change instantly, be bigger than any other wolf, be more protective of the other wolves and their land.... that's about as much as I remember being told" Eliot answers him.

"Well there's more, I think you should hear it" Diwali tells him seriously "the True Alpha is meant to be an old soul who has been reborn many times, he has had many experiences and has much wisdom, as you have already said, he is larger than any other werewolf, about half again as big usually, he has the ability to Change quickly, not instantly as you believe, but in a matter of about ten to fifteen seconds rather than the two minute usual, he can't do this all the time though, but only in times of great need or high stress, the rest of the time it is a more usual timeframe, maybe a slight bit faster, his senses of smell and hearing are far superior to all other were's, he can hear another wolf howling from over five miles away, he'll hear things no other can, as for his sense of smell, he'll be able to smell blood from over a mile away, he can smell his pup's or Mate's scent when it's days old, meaning he can track them almost anywhere they go on foot, he's also able to smell the change in his Mate's scent within a few hours of her falling pregnant" at that Eliot's head jerks up, remembering the conversation they had regarding his sudden-stopping of his rut, followed by the memory of her scent that last morning, how it had been starting to change, to smell more like him, he'd still been hard the rest of the day after that, but hadn't been _horny_ , he'd just wanted to be with her and protect her.

"The Alpha also has the ability to change a human Mate into a half-were, if he chooses a human as a Mate, and his wolf also chooses her, and they both claim her, then she will start to exhibit abilities usual to were's only, elongating teeth, chest growling, the ability to properly howl, eyes changing colour during times of stress or... excitement, although they change to an ice blue/white colour, but they still turn partially gold during certain times, increased strength, increased healing and immune system, heightened sense of hearing and smell, and her menstrual cycle will evolve to match her Mate's rut cycle, meaning she'll go into heat while he's in rut instead of having periods every month, she won't be able to _Change_ , but she will be able to cause and control _Changes_ in herself, but lastly and completely unique to the True Alpha and his Mate, they develop a low-level psychic bond, it manifests as an empathy, knowing each other's mood when they're apart, feeling pain or pleasure as the other does, sometimes sharing tastes or sounds or other sensations, it's not telepathy by any stretch, but given time it can seem that way" Diwali tells him, Eliot's eyes slowly getting wider as he progresses.

"Why are you tellin' me this?" Eliot whispers, fearing what he's about to be told.

"You haven't figured it out? When your rut stopped so suddenly I began to suspect, then when you healed so quickly from the silver bullet, even if having Sarah with you was helping you to heal faster, it was phenomenal, then there was how fast you Changed when you pinned Jared, not to mention the size of your wolf, I hadn't seen you in wolf form since you were a teenager, and it's most likely you haven't been near another were in wolf form since then, so you wouldn't know, but your wolf is nearly twice the size of the current Alpha of the Pack and he's considered a large wolf, to me it's obvious that you are the True Alpha, and that begs the question, have you _Changed_ my daughter?" Diwali answers him with what could be an important question.

But Eliot's brain is short-circuiting, hearing all of this old lore and then being told it's him? It's too much! on top of all the other revelations in the past half-week his intellect and emotions can't take anymore, he goes from standing to being on his ass without warning, just dropping like a stone and sitting there staring, his mind in his memories of Jayda saying 'now I'm gonna let this time go, put it down to you having claimed me earlier an' this time was the wolf claimin' me', it's like she'd sensed the meaning of it, even though neither of them knew, so now he had to answer Diwali....

"I... I think .... maybe I have,.... I claimed her.... then another time he took over and claimed her too.... I think she may be Changin', yes." Eliot stammers out, trying to both answer Diwali and come to terms with it himself at the same time.

"How can I be the True Alpha? I'm not even part of the pack, I never really was..." he asks looking up at Diwali in confusion.

"Just because you do not run with the pack does not mean you are not part of it, by bloodline you are a natural leader to this pack, only your absence has stopped that from becoming fact, by blood you are of this pack, and you ARE the True Alpha, that doesn't mean you have to return permanently and rule them, it is simply who you are, and you will be drawn here when the pack needs you, to protect the pack and their lands" Diwali tells him, making him feel a little less overwhelmed.

"So what does bein' the Alpha have to do with the pain in my feet?" Eliot asks.

"Is it just your feet?" Diwali inquires.

"Well.... now that you ask no it isn't, it's up to my hip on one side and my knee on the other, and since just after they took her my left wrist has been painful to move, but I had put that down to somethin' else" Eliot says, a little surprised, having a passing thought of Jayda sat on his hand and suddenly convulsing upwards.

"I believe you're experiencing the pain that Jayda is suffering, it will be a mild shadow of what she's feeling, but it's what I suspect" Diwali tells him.

"But the pain last night, it felt... are you tellin' me they... and if it felt that bad to me how bad must she have felt...?" Eliot's speed slowly running down as he gets progressively quieter when he realises what it means.

"I'm sorry Eliot" Diwali says, feeling great sorrow for both his daughter and this man who loves her.

"I have to get her back Diwali, I don't know how I'd cope without her now" Eliot whispers.

Even though Diwali wants to reassure him, he won't lie to this man, so he keeps quiet and merely thinks about what he read in the Shaman diaries, that the last True Alpha died of a broken heart after his Mate was murdered, and hopes that history doesn't repeat itself.

"Come Eliot, share a meal with your family and take strength from them, it will help" Diwali says, offering Eliot a hand to help him up before shepherding him down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Eliot takes a deep breath and pulls his mind to the food he's been making for most of the afternoon, taking the dough he'd prepared earlier, while waiting for Quinn and Ruby to show up, and putting it into the oven, he checks the casserole that's been cooking for a few hours now and smiles as it smells perfect, he always got so much pleasure from cooking, even if he did bitch about it some times when he felt taken for granted, he turns to the island and leans on the butchers block, his whole front burning now, making him wonder what they're doing to Jayda, when suddenly he feels like someone has slammed his wrist in a vault door, making him grab it with his opposing hand and bend at the waist growling and panting.

Immediately Diwali is by his side "Eliot what happened?"

"I dunno, it just suddenly felt like someone slammed my wrist in somethin', or hammered it with a sledgehammer, if I didn't KNOW for a fact that I've suffered no trauma i'd think i'd just broken it, it hurts that much" he answers looking up into Diwali's eyes scaredly, thinking 'if it feels like this to me how bad is the real wound on her?'.

"Don't worry about that now, there is nothing we can do to help her at this moment" Diwali tells him, as if hearing the thought run through his head "go sit down, I'll watch the food and serve it when it's ready, try talking with Alec, he may have some things to tell you" Diwali tells him, pointing him at the sofas and giving him a gentle push.

Eliot goes to sit on the sofa next to the small couch Parker and Hardison are sharing and asks "what do you have for me Hardison?"

Hardison looks down at where Eliot is cradling his hurting wrist, using more tenderness on it than Hardison had ever seen him use towards himself before.

"Right! starting at the oldest request first...., I managed to get a cctv shot of the guy who hired the van as 'Damien Moreau' it's so bad I haven't managed to get an ID yet but the computer is working on it, there's been no sightings of Samantha since the day Sarah was taken but I'm searching all local cameras for her so if she shows up we'll know, we've got a few derelict buildings locally that have suddenly had their power either turned back on or have started using what was already connected but previously unused, I'm checking their locations against all other locations we find to see if any could be a connection, especially after Sarah's information was added to the search, I should know by morning if any match, the 'bulky' guys have been filling up at two stations near here, one's about three miles away the other about four, but they always pay in cash, even so I've marked them on our map, along with the locator positions, Jayda's earbud's position which keeps cutting out and then coming back online, like someone keeps playing with the on/off switch or it's in a place that's shielded, I've marked the GPS locations the hired van has been to as well, I've marked off the locations Quinn and Parker already checked, but that still leaves us with alot of places yet to search, I've found no link between Jared and either Samantha or Moreau, although it doesn't mean he's not involved, it's possible he was their informant or something, also I checked about buildings with concrete basements, I've found three so far, but I've not looked at the pictures yet and there might be more, also I've got a lead on a steel reinforced door that may have been made to order, to very specific standards, and shipped to this area, all I need to do is find who fitted it, I'm working on that now, anything else you wanna know?" Hardison reels out, barely stopping to take breaths along the way.

"Is there any possible location from any list that's within five miles of this location or Diwali's property?" Eliot asks.

"There might be a couple, I'll check once I'm finished checking about the door, I'll know by lunchtime tomorrow, give or take, why'd you ask?" Hardison enquires.

"Just a feelin'" Eliot tells him, looking far off as Diwali starts bringing bowls of casserole with thick slices of fresh bread over for everyone.

Eliot eats but the far-off look never leaves his face once during the meal.

Just as the meal is finishing Eliot starts to shiver, an all over shuddering shivering, the sort of thing the team saw from Nate when they were on the mountain for the job with the dead climber, and it worries Parker greatly, when she reaches out to gently brush her fingers over Eliot's bare forearm he jumps back from her like her touch burns and that worries her even more.

"What's wrong sparky?" She asks quietly, knowing he wouldn't want the girls to know something was up.

"I feel like I'm sittin' naked on Everest wearin' a skin suit made of acid, my skin is burnin' but my bones are frozen" he tells her, clenching his teeth so hard one side of his jaw aches, trying to stop his teeth chattering.

"What's causing it?" She asks, realising that he's not worried by it, just suffering through it.

"It's what's happenin' to Jay right now, she's cold, freezin', but somethin' is makin' her skin burn at the same time, if I'm this bad I can't begin to guess how much worse she is" he tells her, and Parker, believer in magic and Santa doesn't question it, just accepts that what he says is true, comforting him more than she'd ever know.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" She asks, wanting to somehow make this easier for him.

"No it's ok, I'm startin' to warm back up, I'll be ok" he reassures her leaning over to give her a hug.

"Right!" Diwali starts, getting the attention of the room "it's getting late and it is time for the girls to get to bed, who is staying where tonight?" He asks.

"Well, I'm stayin' here, it's my home now" Eliot states shrugging.

"I want to stay here with my daddy for now please, mommy" Sarah asks Ruby, who gives her a nod of consent.

"Assuming I'm still welcome, I was planning to stay with Ruby and Jane tonight" Quinn says, "we've got one of the farmhands to stay late and change the locks, I'm sure I can pay him to stay over as extra backup in case Jared comes back too" Ruby nodding an agreement with his plans.

"And if we're still welcome we thought we'd stay with you Diwali, then we know you have backup in case Jared comes after you again" Hardison says, his arm wrapped tightly around Parker.

"I think each of those plans are the wisest, but I must warn each of you young men, don't go looking for trouble, if Jared shows up anywhere then call the police and each other, DON'T try to face him alone, he's already shown he's willing to shoot people, and that was before he was humiliated and forced to leave, so please be careful" Diwali counsels, before saying "let us leave Eliot and Sarah in peace"

Everyone starts moving, getting coats and boots on and telling each other to be careful, eventually the group of family leave and get into the trucks, waving and shouting goodbyes as they drive away, leaving Eliot stood with a wry smile and his arms wrapped around Sarah where she sits on his hip.

"Wanna go for a run before bed, bug?" Eliot asks her.

"Can we? Please?" She asks with a slight whine to her tone.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't gonna let you, bug, no need to whine ok? We'll get everythin' ready for when we get back and go out for about an hour alright?" He tells her, putting her down and ushering her into the house, he can already feel how cold it is, there's gonna be a severe frost at least tonight and he wants to let them both have a run before that happens.

Once inside he works on the fire, building it up but making sure it'll be safe while they're gone, he brings Sarah's blanket to the dining table and a large fluffy one for himself too, he goes upstairs and pulls out warm pajamas for Sarah, before looking through Jayda's drawers and closet, finding some outsized sweatpants and a massive sports sweater he can wear to sleep in, the pants might be a bit short but he's gonna be indoors so what does it matter? He was going to have to get some clothes though since it looked like he was staying a lot longer than originally planned.

After laying his finds out on the bed for them to wear after showering, he goes to Jayda's jewellery box again, this time he puts his ring inside, so that it's safe while he runs, he'd be devastated if anything happened to it.

Now that everything was done he comes back down and says to Sarah "you ready?"

She looks a little unsure and looks at him through her eyelashes shyly "Jared told me it was bad to take my clothes off in front of anyone, but I can't get my clothes off after I've Changed, I don't wanna be bad, what do I do?" She asks, the scent of distress very strong on her, AGAIN, because of that bastard.

"There are times when it's ok to be without your clothes, bug, when you're Changin' either before or after, is always fine, it's just when you're with strangers that you should try to avoid it, but you should never be ashamed of your body, or worry about me, Ruby, Jayda or Diwali seeing you naked, because we just see our bug, and to us you look the same whether you're wearin' clothes or not, so it's ok to take your clothes off ok?" He tells her, having always been open about nudity with Jayda and even Diwali, this was not something he'd ever worried about himself.

"Ok, I trust you daddy, I love you" she says before very quickly taking her clothes off and beginning her Change.

Smiling down at her as her Change starts Eliot strips off quickly, moving both of their clothes out of the way and opening the back doors about a foot, then Changes himself.

Once he's finished he nudges Sarah with his nose pointing her towards the open doors which she slips out of instantly, he follows, shouldering the doors open wider to get out and then using a paw on the casing to push them closed back together, glad that they'd been built in such a way that it was possible to do.

He stands and shakes, the key on its leather thong settling into his ruff as he does and then looks down to the pup, flicking his head in the direction of the woods, telling her to lead the way and that he'd follow behind her, she tilts her head at him giving him a puppy grin and then with a yip runs off into the underbrush, the Alpha wolf hot on her heels.

QUINN

As they arrive at Ruby's farm the downstairs light is on and the new locks shine in the light from the truck's headlights.

Jane and Ruby go into the house ahead of Quinn, shouting for Bruce who comes out of the living room in his socked feet, swinging Jane up onto his hip to give her a cuddle and listen to what she's telling him, while Quinn quickly examines the locks to make sure they're working properly and well fitted, upon inspection they seem to be very well fitted and in excellent working condition, obviously Bruce hadn't been joking about how protective he was of Ruby and the girls, when Bruce looks up at Quinn they hold each other's eyes for a moment before nodding to each other, recognising that they both want to protect this family, Quinn now knows that when he leaves to work as a hitter there will still be someone here who will protect Ruby and her girls, making him feel a lot better about not giving up his work to be here.

Once Ruby has told Jane that it's bedtime and that she needs either a bath or shower before bed, and then dealt with the inevitable whining of a tired child who doesn't want to sleep, Ruby takes her up to bathe her leaving Quinn and Bruce to talk.

"So you're sticking around for a bit?" Bruce asks, making Quinn think of every cliched over-protective dad or big brother in modern media.

"Yeah, I'll have to leave for work sometimes, or to help Eliot out, but I intend to always come back to them" he answers, getting a few of the upcoming questions out of the way with that one answer.

"Good, I meant what I said, you ever hurt any of them and I'll hunt you down, I might not be some big bounty hunter or anything but I will find you, and I'll show you a world of hurt" the big man promises, staring down at Quinn with unfathomable black eyes.

"And that's why I feel safe being able to leave them for work, because I know you'll be here to protect them" Quinn tells him, surprising him a little and earning new respect in the native's eyes.

"But for tonight I need a favour, I know you're most likely dying to go home and your wife is proba...." but he's cut off mid-word.

"Husband" he says, leaving Quinn speechless for just a moment.

"My mistake, your husband is probably worried about you, but I need you to stay the night, I'll pay you double and a half your hourly rate in cash at the end of the week and you'll have tomorrow off, fully paid, I just need backup in case Jared comes back around during the night" Quinn explains, making a generous offer in compensation for the time Bruce would have to stay with them.

"You don't need to pay me extra, I'll stay anyway, I just need to let Caleb know where I am, he'll probably come sniffing around later in the night if he can't sleep, so I'll stay up and watch for a few hours in case he does" Bruce tells him, hinting that his husband is one of the tribe Pack.

"I insist on the payment, it's out of my pocket not the farm or Ruby's so don't worry about it, from what you said, if I may ask, is your husband one of the tribe Pack? The only were's I've ever met are Eliot and his daughter Sarah and i'd love to meet more if it was alright" Quinn enquires politely.

"Sarah is Eliot's child? Are you sure?" Bruce asks before continuing "yes my husband has high standing in the Pack, he makes me very proud, if you would like to meet him I will ask him to come meet me in the morning so that you can be introduced, I hope nudity doesn't bother you?" He adds smirking.

"I was in the armed forces, nudity is not an issue" he answers before saying "and yes I am sure about Sarah and Eliot, it's what all this trouble has been over" although they haven't proved that link yet Quinn is sure of what he's saying, it's just too much of a coincidence that everything all kicked off at the same time without it being connected.

At this point Ruby comes down the top few stairs they're stood at the bottom of and says to Quinn "she wants you to tuck her in and she'll most likely demand a story, if you don't mind?"

"I'll go call Caleb" Bruce whispers as he walks away into the living room and she comes down a few more steps as Quinn starts to climb.

"Of course I don't mind!, is she in her room?" He asks, wrapping his arms around her when he reaches the step below her.

"Yes, she's already in bed, she's really tired so she should drop off quickly, on the off chance she doesn't don't let her talk you into another story, she's already been told only one and I really don't want you to go against me on this" she tells him, letting out a deep sigh at the end like she expects a fight.

"I wouldn't go against you on this, Ruby, you're her mother, you know far better what she needs than I do, I don't know if it's because you're used to him going against you all the time that you think this but I promise you, I'm gonna follow your rules here, it's your home and your family" Quinn says softly, hugging her gently to him and coaxing her head to rest on his shoulder.

With her head resting there she says "it's your home and your family too if you want it to be" leaning in to kiss him on the neck.

He squeezes her quickly and then leans back a little to look her in the face, "I would like that, but it'll always be yours before being mine ok?" Before leaning in to kiss her, the kiss only has a small trickle of the passion they shared earlier in it, but she knows that's because he's holding it back, not because it's not there "I better go see her before she falls asleep without me and gets angry I never came to see her tomorrow" he says kissing her again and then moving past her, feeling her squeeze his ass on his way past, looking over his shoulder and giving her a boyish smile, which she grins back at unreservedly.

"Hey Tazzie! You ready to go to sleep?" He asks quietly as he comes into the room, not wanting to be too loud in case she had already fallen asleep.

"Quinn! I thought you'd forgotten to come say goodnight" she says, sounding half asleep.

"Never sweetheart! How could I forget to say goodnight to such a good, brave little girl?" He asks, coming over to perch on the side of her bed, stroking her hair rather than hugging her as he doesn't want to disturb her.

"Will you be here in the morning?" She asks him.

"Yes honey, I'll be here" he answers, still stroking her hair.

"Good, mommy likes you, and you're a nice daddy" she says, slipping into sleep, soothed by his stroking her head.

"Well thank you sweetheart, you're a nice daughter" he whispers, gently pulling her quilt up a few inches and settling it around her before standing and leaving the room, turning the light off, but leaving the door cracked open, so that the hall light lit the room enough that she wouldn't be scared if she woke up in the night.

He goes back downstairs, and finds Ruby curled up on the sofa, glass of wine in hand, Bruce in an armchair nearby.

"Do you want one Sean?" She asks holding up the wine bottle towards him.

"Just a little" he answers coming to sit next to her and wrap his arm around her, once she's poured him a glass.

Ruby snuggles in against him, happy to finally be held by a man who makes her feel safe and protected rather than owned and oppressed.

"Is everything alright with Caleb?" Quinn asks Bruce, wanting to make sure his request hasn't caused any problems with the man's husband.

"It's all fine, he'll come and patrol the farm and surrounding lands in his other form later tonight, or should I say early in the morning, he's going out for a few in town with some friends, so if he hears anything while he's out he'll let us know" Bruce tells him as he settles back down into his seat, obviously intending to spend the night there.

"Ruby is there anywhere else Bruce can sleep? I don't want to make him sleep in an armchair if there's another option" Quinn asks.

"Well, there is the spare room, Parker and Hardison's things are still in there, but I could pack them up and change the sheets..." Ruby starts before being cut off by Bruce.

"The chair and maybe the couch are fine! You've had enough to deal with today, don't you worry about me, just look after each other tonight ok?" Bruce insists.

"You're sure?" Ruby asks.

"Yes, now why don't you both go finish your bottle of wine in bed and get an early night, I'll keep watch down here" Bruce replies.

Quinn knows when to take an order, so he stands, reaches down a hand for Ruby to use to help her up, then grabs both their glasses and the bottle before herding Ruby to the door and wishing Bruce a goodnight before following her through it.

Once they reach the bedroom and he's put the wine and glasses down Quinn is reminded of the mess in there, plus the broken mirror scattered all over the floor, not wanting either of them to get hurt in the night he asks Ruby "do you have a vacuum around?"

She looks at him and says "I'll do it" before he tells her "no I will, where's the vacuum? I want you to go have a shower while I clear up this glass and by the time you're done the floor will be safe, and then we can go to bed, ok?"

"It's in the hall closet opposite the door to this room" she tells him, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning up to kiss him, the kiss quickly becoming passionate and very dirty.

After a couple of minutes Quinn leans away a little and says "you're not distracting me, as nice as the distraction is, go shower, alright?"

And she pouts up at him thinking before asking "are you not going to join me?"

"If you're not done by the time I am then maybe, but i'd rather be wrapped up in the sheets with you tonight, just wanna hold you and make sure you feel safe" he says pulling her back up against him and kissing her sweetly, not letting her make it dirty, just keeping it innocent.

"Ok" she replies breathily after about five minutes of being kissed in this way, before he gently pushes her in the direction of the joined bath, patting her ass as she goes, the minute she's through the door, with her full wine glass in hand, he's out in the hallway retrieving the vacuum, pushing all the ruined clothes to the sides of the room, thinking they can be cleaned up later so long as the open areas of floor are safe for now, he vacuums all the areas where they're likely to walk thoroughly and then returns the vacuum to the closet, stripping off and hanging his suit over the back of the vanity chair again, he slips into the bathroom in just his boxers, carrying a half-glass of wine for himself, and walks over to the shower, tapping on the glass, she turns and smiles at him, watching him drink his wine while she rinses her hair, before opening the door and saying "coming in?"

Quinn gives her a lopsided smile and says "nah, just thought i'd let you know I was going to bed, so you better be quick if you want cuddles, because I'm very tired and I might fall asleep"

"Well I'll be there real quick then! just give me five minutes" Ruby tells him with a wide sunny smile.

"No problem" he says winking at her and slipping back out of the bathroom, once he's sure everything is as it should be, and he's finished his glass of wine, he goes to climb into the bed, and then thinks, wondering whether he should keep his boxers on or not? He doesn't want Ruby to feel pressured to have sex again, but he also doesn't want her to think he's not interested in being with her, while he stands next to the bed, considering his options, Ruby comes to stand in the doorway behind him, appreciating the view of his ass she's got, as the boxers are a half-size too small really, eventually she begins to feel sorry for him as it's obvious to her what he's worrying about and says "off with them then! As nice a view of your ass as they give, you won't be needing them tonight, if that's ok?"

"Whatever you want darling" he tells her over his shoulder as he slowly peels the boxers down and throws them at the chair before climbing into the bed and holding out his arms to her.

She's in his arms just a moment later, pushing him into the centre of the bed, so that she can get in beside him and press her body up against his, her soft, naked skin warm from the shower, he leans his head towards her and kisses her softly, but the kiss, just like their skin, heats up quickly, his arm around her pulling her as tightly against his hip as possible, after a minute she brings her leg up, over his thigh, and rests her inner thigh over his already hard dick, making a noise of surprise and want at the sensation of his hot, straining flesh under hers, before slowly grinding herself against his hip.

"Hey! No don't do that! You'll tear your stitches! As much as I like it I don't want you to harm or hurt yourself, ok?" Quinn tells her, moving his hips away from her slightly.

"But how else am I meant to show you I like it and want you?" She asks him sounding upset.

"You kiss me" he leans in and kisses her "and hold me" he pulls her back against himself "and touch me" he brings her hand to his chest, laying it over his heart "and lo... look into my eyes" he says, staring into her eyes as he leans down for another searing kiss, just catching himself before saying something he's scared he might regret.

As he keeps kissing her Quinn reaches up, cupping his hand around the side of her neck and the back of her head, holding her in place while he ravishes her mouth, stroking her neck slowly with his thumb making her shiver, before slowly trailing his hand downwards, stopping to cup her breast, thumb caressing her nipple gently, as his other arm tightens even more around her slim waist, pulling her tightly against him as he rolls more onto his back, meaning she's now half over him, knee over his other hip, and the top of her inner thigh rubbing against his heated cock, making him moan into the kiss.

She pulls her head back slightly to tell him "I want you, Sean, please, show me how good it can be again?" He moans again, burying his face in her neck, wanting nothing more than to simply slide into her and do as she asks, give her pleasure until she explodes again and again, like fireworks going off.

As he begins kissing her again the arm around her waist moves downwards, his hand coming to rest on her asscheek, fingers spread so that he can grab a good handful if he chooses, as he uses that hand to massage the flesh of her rump, the tips of his index and middle fingers come to rest just at the back of her hole, allowing him to feel that again she feels damp, but _only_ damp, as turned on as she is her outward genitalia is barely wet, her natural wetness is all trapped inside, so she'll need help to loosen up and let it out again.

As he caresses her breast with his other hand and she rubs at his cock with her inner thigh, she moves the hand that had been resting over his heart and starts playing with his nipple, stroking over it before swirling her finger around its tightening centre, then stroking over it with her fingernail, giving a different kind of stimulation, which gives him an idea.

He pulls back from their kiss and says "stop, come lay here in the centre of the bed, there's something I wanna try" rolling back the way they had come to make it easier for Ruby to pull her leg back from over him.

Once he is able to move out of the way he lays Ruby out on her back, her head on a mountain of pillows, and he moves to kneel between her legs, he can see that she's getting tense, her subconscious most likely expecting him to force his way into her, like Jared obviously did, making her scared and tense, he strokes her outer thighs gently, smiling down softly at her, before saying "don't worry, I'm not gonna try to just have you, I have something that I hope you'll really like that I want to do, to try and make you feel good and relaxed, is that ok?"

"If you want to just have me you can, I want you, you shouldn't have to do anything special just because I'm bro... tense" she tells him, making him feel so heartbroken for her that she feels this way.

"First off, you're not ' _broken_ ', you're just tense because you've been hurt so much so often, it's a normal response, secondly, you've been abused until bad habits have formed, like thinking it's ok for me to 'just have you' when your body obviously isn't on board with that idea yet, thirdly, this isn't 'something special' I'm doing, it's something I like doing with my lovers, whatever their gender, this is not a chore for me but a pleasure that hopefully you'll enjoy and allow me to do again in the future ok?" He tells her sternly.

"Ok" she answers meekly, making him feel a little bad and like he could have said these things more gently.

So he comes up to lay over her, kissing her softly and saying quietly "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so harsh, I just hate that you're always saying it's ok for me to hurt you to get my pleasure, like you're not important, both your pain and your pleasure are so important to me, I only ever want to make you feel good and I never want to hurt you, please forgive me?"

"Of course! You're only trying to take care of me, I'm the one making it hard for you..." she answers, before his lips twist into a smirk and he says "you are indeed the one making it hard..." making her burst out laughing and slap his arm saying "dirty minded bast..." getting cut off by a very dirty kiss.

When Quinn pulls back from their kiss he tells her "I want you to tell me if I do anything you don't like or that hurts you ok? Promise me?"

"I promise" she says solemnly, looking into his eyes.

He grins at her and pulls away, sliding down the bed until his head is at crotch height on her, he takes each of her legs and positions them where he wants them, for now just in an open V with her knees bent so her feet are flat on the bed, he looks back up at her, hoping to see her smiling at what he hopes is obvious he's about to do, but instead she's frowning looking down at him biting her lip.

"What's wrong?" He asks, slowly stroking her lower legs.

"You don't have to do this.... I know men hate doing this for women, please don't do it just because you think you have to, what we did earlier worked, you don't need to do this to get me wet" she answers before going back to nibbling her lip.

"Ruby, I just told you I like doing this with my lovers, and in fact most men love doing it for their ladies, I wouldn't do something just because I thought I had to, I'm not like that, and I know what we did earlier worked, I was there remember? I'm doing this because I want to, so, as long as you don't have an objection to trying it, i'd like to start?" He answers, knowing he's repeating himself but not really knowing what else to say to convince her.

"Are you sure?" She asks him quietly.

"Yes, I promise" he answers looking steadily into her eyes.

"Ok" she breathes out, her knees relaxing outwards as her whole posture changes to one of being comfortable, not tense.

He smiles up at her before lowering his lips and kissing her mound gently, right in the middle of her stitches, and then lowering himself flat onto his chest and belly, running his hands down the backs of her thighs, until his thumbs are in position to hold her labia open, once he uses his tongue to separate them.

He dips his head down, still watching her face over the length of her body, and licks along the seam of her lips, starting at the bottom, hearing her sigh he moves closer and licks again, this time separating the edges of the outer labia gently with the tip of his tongue, feeling his tongue just brush ever so lightly over the smoothness of her clit, which elicits a quiet gasp from Ruby, and an unseen smile from him, for the third stroke he pushes in harder, completely separating her lips and stroking firmly over her clit, making her moan softly, he likes that sound, wants to hear more of it, so he continues to stroke over her clit again and again, getting a litany of gasps, moans and eventually a really quiet but prolonged _squeal_ , quirking his eyebrows in victory he moves his mouth downwards, wanting to properly taste her for the first time, catching her lips with his thumbs, as his tongue moves downwards, separating them, pulling them apart gently and pinning them to her inner thighs so that he can have better access to her most intimate places.

He slowly circles her entrance with his tongue, using plenty of saliva to smooth the way, then licking at the sensitive inside of her outer lips, stroking her with the flat of his tongue, before sucking one of her inner lips into his mouth, they're small and delicate but in a wonderful placement for being sucked and played with, he grazes the hypersensitive flesh with his teeth, making her gasp again, God he loves that sound!

He goes back to circling her entrance with his tongue, starting to dip inwards after every other circle, his face fully buried between her thighs now, he slides his thumbs up along her outer lips, one staying at the top of her slit the other sliding back down until he can gently slide his thumb into her hole, gently rubbing and massaging around the back wall, helping her relax even as he stimulates her, his other thumb brushing over her clit, barely making contact, but every time he does she shakes, jumping and jerking with every caress over her now visibly protruding clit, it looks like a miniature cock, hard and erect from her body, standing about an inch out from between her lips, just begging to be sucked and stroked, and who is he to deny her? He licks along the underside with the tip of his tongue, much as he would to an actual cock, running his tongue around the flare of the head before engulfing it in his mouth, sucking down to the root, his lips sealed around the base, sucking the top of her inner lips in every time he sucks hard on her, massaging her length with his tongue as he does, making her squeak and squeal as she writhes on the sheets, gasping, his thumb that's inside her he replaces with his first two fingers on that hand, sliding them in just a little before pulling them back, then thrusting just a tiny bit further in with each successive movement, stroking her inner walls constantly, until he suddenly feels her clench down hard on his fingers, and she shouts out his name as his face is covered with wetness, making him let go of her clit and drive his tongue up inside her, stroking at her sensitive inner walls that quake and shiver with her pleasure, tasting her sweetness before pushing his face harder against her, so that he can devour her, licking and sucking at her hole and nibbling her inner lips that are so red and engorged with blood, and so sensitive to his touch that she's moaning continuously, the moans soon change to her repeating his name, over and over again, until it's almost a chant.

Eventually he's had his fill of her, and he brings his head up, looking up along her body to where she has hold of handfuls of her own hair, moaning and panting his name as she rocks her head back and forth slowly with her eyes closed, he rises to his hands and knees and quickly crawls over her, until he's high enough up the bed to kiss her, he takes hold of her head in both hands, resting on his elbows that are out to each side of her head, and brings his lips to hers, giving her what he's pretty sure is her first ever taste of herself, from his tongue.

As she feels him come to rest over her, his hard cock coming to lay along the crease between her hip and lower belly, she brings her knees up on either side of him, squeezing his hips with her thighs, then lets go of her own hair to remove the tie from his and bury her hands in it, holding his head where she wants it so she can deepen their kiss quickly, as they carry on kissing he lifts off her slightly, moving his hips back a little until his cock brushes over the head of her clit and along her slit, the head coming to rest at her entrance, before settling back down over her, slowly rubbing the length of his cock along her slit, covering himself in her cum and juices, just waiting for a sign that she wants him to proceed before going any further.

He doesn't have to wait long, after just a few slides against her, ending with his head at her entrance, she waits until he's on a downwards slide then raises and tips her hips, causing him to slide into her unintentionally, she's still so tight from her orgasm that when he reaches the area where her clenching muscles are, it's a little too tight for him to go any further, so he begins to draw back, until her legs are suddenly wrapped tightly around his waist and she's not _letting_ him move.

"No! Don't stop, please, I want you inside me" she begs, whispering it quietly but forcefully into his ear, her breath making all the hair on his neck stand up as it brushes over it.

"You're a little too tight, if I don't stop I'll hurt you, and you know I refuse to hurt you" he replies just as quietly.

"I didn't say you had to force your way in, just move into me as far as you can and back a little until I loosen, please?" She tells him.

"Ok, but if you end up hurt it'll be a long time before we have full sex again, ok?" He insists.

"Ok, I promise" she breathes against his ear, loosening the grip of her thighs around his hips, letting him move back enough that he can start to make thrusting motions into her, only going from her outer edge to where he feels her tighten down around the head of his cock, where if he went any further he'd be making it on the edge of painful for both of them.

He turns his head slightly so that he's able to kiss her neck, moving along the length of it up to her ear where he sucks on her earlobe, rubbing his teeth over the sensitive flesh every few sucks, making her sigh at the sensation.

She pulls one hand out of his hair, sliding it down his arm until she reaches his hand, pulling it away from the side of her face and guiding it down to her breast, letting him know she wants him to play with her body, stimulate her in all the ways he knows how, so he moves her head with the other hand, turning it towards himself so that he can kiss her passionately before pinching her nipple gently, rolling it between his fingers, pulling it and gently nipping it with his nails, which has her arching up under him, making her feel tighter for a moment as she arches, before loosening up more than she'd tightened, allowing him to slide deeper into her, not quite all the way but getting close, and as he continues to use controlled thrusts into her, the length of his cock rubs along her clit, making her moan and dig her nails into his ass, urging him on, urging him to enter her fully, but he knows she's not quite there yet, so he slides his hand further down her side, stroking over her hip and round onto her ass, grabbing her cheek in his hand and pulling her ass up towards him, lifting her hips with his one hand and changing the angle between them slightly, making her cry out in pleasure.

After holding her there for a minute or so while he teases her with his length, he lowers her ass back down, before allowing his hand to slide down her thigh to her knee, which he grips and pulls up to his waist, opening her up more to him and allowing him to thrust all the way into her, making her hiss "yes!" Into his ear as she feels his pelvis meet hers, crushing her clit between them so that she feels every slight movement either of them makes, driving her crazy with want for him.

"Oh god, yes! Sean, there.... " she says into his ear, letting him know how good he feels inside of her, she grinds down on his length when he pauses between thrusts, squeezing and massaging his cock while she rubs her erect clit against his hair between them, tickling herself.

Now that he's fully inside of her he kneels up, her legs still wrapped around his waist and his hands moving to grip both sides of her waist, before pulling her towards himself and grinding against her, once he's as deep inside her as it's as possible to go he pulls back torturously slowly until he's nearly completely free of her grasp, before thrusting into her deep and firm, but slowly, using his full length to stimulate her, once he has established a smooth rhythm he brings one hand down, stroking the length of her clit, running his nail gently along the underside before wrapping one finger around the back of it and placing the pad and nail of his thumb under the front and stroking the length, moving both together in a milking motion, the tip of his thumbnail catching the underside on every pass making her shake and shudder, mewling with pleasure as she tightens down on his swollen cock that's gently sliding back and forth inside her.

"Please, please no, not like this, want it to be your cock that gets me off, please!" She cries out, as soon as she says no he halts, waiting to hear if she wants him to stop completely and pull out, he's relieved that's not what she wants and follows her instructions, stopping caressing her clit, and laying back down over her, resuming his gliding in and out of her in a gentle thrusting motion as he kisses her, starting gently but quickly building in passion, which is mirrored in his thrusts, until he's pounding into her, he eventually pulls his mouth away to talk into her ear.

"Is this what you want? For me to hammer at you like this? Or is there something else you'd like, a position you'd like to try, or that you know you'd like? Or a different way for me to..... make love to you? Slower, gentler, harder, rougher? Just tell me what you want..." he asks, offering suggestions until he's begging, just wanting to make it good for her.

"I... ah, I like this, but may... maybe another position? I'm, ah, not sure what positions there are.... oooh yes right there!.... so you'll need to choose for us, all I want is for yo.... you to make love to me, until we both cum again, like earlier... oh god please, Sean!" she answers, after getting distracted by pleasure a few times along the way.

Quinn thinks quickly, he doesn't want her on her hands and knees, whilst it's a good position to be able to get them both off, he wants to see her face, and wants her to be able to see his, so that she can see how much he cares in his eyes while he fuc..., scr..., no he has to admit it to himself,... makes love to her, he makes up his mind and figures out how to get them into his decided on position.

He brings his knees up hard against her hips just on either side of her ass and slides his arms under and around her waist and the bottom of her ribs saying "take tight hold of my shoulders, I'm gonna lift you up, ok?"

"Don't drop me, please?" She begs, sounding scared.

"I'm not going to drop you darling, I promise" he tells her.

Taking a tight hold of her he lifts her until she's up, sat on his lap with her knees on either side of his ass, his cock still deep within her, her sudden fear of being dropped making her tighten around him, causing him to gasp then moan, before nipping at her neck, then he takes hold of her ass in both hands and lifts her slightly along his cock, showing her she has control over her movements thanks to her knees being on the bed, before slowly pulling her back down by the hips onto him again, being sure to grind up into her as she lowers down, she lifts again without any encouragement, obviously liking the control she has and the sensations she's getting from having him so deep inside her, before long she has a rhythm going, almost bouncing in his lap she's so enthusiastic, after a short while of this Quinn grips her hips when she's at the top of her bounce and holds her there before hammering up into her roughly, making her moan loudly, before surging forwards and pinning her back against the headboard, until he's lifted up on his knees between her legs and she's in what would be a sitting position if she was sat on anything but his cock, he's continuing to thrust into her rapidly while he pants against her neck, quickly she begins to moan, starting to tighten down on him rhythmically as her orgasm approaches, and she begins to claw at his back and shoulders, so completely unprepared for the pleasure he keeps giving her that she doesn't know how to react, as she's squeezing down on him, he begins to talk into her ear again, "do you like this? Is it what you wanted? Are you gonna cum for me again? I want you to, wanna feel you squeeze down around me so tight I feel like I'll never be able to leave, wish I could just stay like this forever..." she's not only gasping now but letting out a series of quiet, low-sounding squeals as well, nodding furiously to everything he says, moving one hand up into his hair to wrench his head around and kiss him as her squeals crescendo and she squeezes down on him so hard he's surprised she doesn't push him out of her body altogether, as she lessens the force of the squeeze he carries on hammering into her, chasing his own pleasure now as she talks.

"Oh, Sean, feels so good, want to feel you cum, want you to fill me with your cum, want to be dripping with it, want you to show the world I'm yours... oh! Yes! Right there, ah!" She says rising to a near shout at the end as she tips over the edge again, her muscles squeezing rhythmically this time, milking along his shaft tipping him over the edge, as he stutters up into her before grinding upwards, he whispers in her ear "my Ruby, so beautiful, so sexy, coming for me again, making me so proud to be yours, I love you so much..." before kissing her again, all full of passion and want, before wrapping her in his arms and turning on his knee, so he can lay her on the bed, albeit upside down, and continue to thrust lazily into her for a few minutes more, but soon she tells him "Sean, I'm getting sore, can we stop? Or are you not finished yet?"

"No honey, I'm finished, I just like being inside of you so much I never wanna stop" he answers, slowly pulling out and laying over one of her legs, so he doesn't get cum all over her stitches but can still kiss her, she kisses him back with passion but after a few minutes pulls back "I gotta use the bathroom, sorry" she says looking embarrassed.

"No problem" he tells her, lifting up from on top of her and moving out of the way, a little surprised that he's still half-hard, after all it's not like he's a teenager anymore, while Ruby's in the bathroom Quinn gets into the bed, after cleaning himself off on his boxer shorts, and snuggles down a little to warm the bed up for her, when she returns she stops at the side of the bed and asks "which side of the bed do you like to sleep on?"

"I don't mind, I'm happy to sleep wherever you want me" he answers, genuinely not caring so long as it's with her.

"Well I usually sleep on this side, but I think i'd like to change now I have a choice, if that's ok?" She tells him.

"That's fine by me, you wanna go around or over?" He asks with a grin before grabbing her and flipping her over him and onto the other side of the bed, making her squeak, she gives him a bit of a dirty look but doesn't say anything, just climbs under the covers and snuggles down a little, but when Quinn goes to take her in his arms she lets him with a smile, letting him know he's forgiven, after spending a while kissing her he's interrupted by Ruby pulling back a little to yawn.

"Am I boring you?" He asks playfully, knowing it may have been days since she slept properly.

"Only a little" she says with a sly grin before finishing with "I'm just really tired"

"Well c'mon then, lets get some sleep" he replies, snuggling further down the bed and pulling her to him, she quickly rests her head on his chest and cuddles into his side.

Quinn is very quickly on the verge of sleep, as it's been a busy few days for him too and now he's comfortable, warm and in the arms of the woman he loves, it's a perfect recipe to put him to sleep, but then, she says so quietly, and slightly slurred as if she's already asleep "by the way, I love you too, Sean"

He's instantly awake again, dying to kiss her and possibly make love to her all over again, but he doesn't wake her, just lays feeling her, in his arms, safe, and eventually joins her in sleep.

ELIOT

After nearly an hour of running aimlessly through the woods Eliot is just getting ready to herd the pup back towards the den when he gets a tiny hint of a scent, it's really faint but is one he remembers, or at least thinks he does.

He barks to the pup, having her stop running and return to his side, while he raises his nose into the air and tries to pick up the scent again, eventually he catches another whiff, rotting honeysuckle mixed with oil, and he knows this scent, is sure he does, but still can't remember where from...

He knows this scent maybe coming from the place Jayda-Mate was being held and he wants to follow it and get her back, kill all of them there who had hurt her, but he has the pup here, he couldn't take her with him and he knows that he can't leave her alone, his Mate would _eviscerate_ him if he left any chance of danger to their pup, so he decides to get an idea of where she is, if he can, and come back tomorrow with his Pack and get her back.

After making that decision he hopes his Mate is near enough and HOWLS as loud and long as he can, calling to his Mate, telling her he's coming for her, once he finishes he sits, waiting patiently to see if she answers, hopefully giving him an idea of the direction to look in, but she's either too far away and couldn't hear him or is gagged and unable to reply because there is no answering howl, just the usual noises of the woods at night.

Feeling dejected he nudges the pup to start moving in the direction of the den, he could try following the scent to where his Mate might be but that would mean potentially putting the pup in harms way so he doesn't, instead he walks towards the den, almost dragging his paws as he thinks of her, the pup crowding up against him and matching his pace rather than running on ahead, smelling her sires distress in his scent and wanting to comfort him.

As they walk it gets colder, frost starting to pattern leaves and grass, the already cool air gets much colder quickly since they're not running anymore and the pup starts to shiver, luckily they are nearing the beginning of the clearing the den is built in so he nudges her forward to go ahead of him, knowing she can get in without him thanks to the pup-door, he picks up his own speed and trots along behind her, keeping her in sight, his breath pluming out of his mouth and nose in huge white clouds.

By the time he reaches the doors the pup is already inside mid-Change, and he realises that he's gonna have to Change outdoors because he can't open the door with paws, he huffs to himself in disgust and Changes back into his two legged form, once he's stood and done a roll of the shoulders to ease his spine and shoulders back into alignment, he looks up to see Sarah, already wrapped into her blanket, watching him with a curious expression, he doesn't know if it's that she's never really seen another wolf Change, or whether it's curiosity at his being A. Male and B. An adult and the differences they mean to his body compared to hers, as he's unsure he decides to just answer when asked, rather than try to preempt her questions and end up explaining something he doesn't need to.

He reaches out and opens the door quickly, it was colder outside than he had thought it would get, he darts in between the doors, closing them and locking them immediately, while Sarah goes and adjusts the glass back to black, he feels better, being wrapped in the warmth of the room but knows he should cover up, so he goes to the blanket he left on the table for himself and wraps it around his lower ribs, securing it quickly.

When he turns around Sarah is stood in front of the fireplace, still shivering and with her teeth chattering, even with her blanket wrapped around her and the heat that is coming from the fire in rolling waves, so he decides it's time to get her in a hot shower to help her warm up.

"Hey bug? C'mon lets go up have a hot shower and go to bed, ok?" Eliot's calls to her softly.

"Ok daddy, is the fire ok like that?" She asks, again showing awareness way above her age.

"Yeah bug, it's fine I sorted it out before we went out, I can see from here that it's still ok" Eliot tells her "c'mon over and we'll get upstairs"

"Will you carry me daddy?" She asks, rubbing at one of her eyes.

"Sure bug" he answers scooping her up against his side and climbing the stairs.

"You tired?" He asks her, watching her blinking slowly.

"Yeah, Jayda's tired too.." she says laying her head on his shoulder, her hand coming up, thumbnail coming to rest between her front teeth, like a child who hasn't quite gotten fully over sucking their thumb.

Eliot nearly misses a step when she says it, like she was talking on behalf of a doll or teddybear.

"How do you know that bug?" He asks her gently, wondering if this might help him find her.

"I dunno, I just do, she's warm and has something soft around her and she's tired, that's all I know" Sarah replies, starting to whine because she's tired.

"S'ok bug, thank you for tellin' me" he tells her, cuddling her into his chest as he walks through the bedroom and into the master bath.

"Here, down for a minute" he says bending down to put Sarah on her feet, but she keeps her legs clamped around his waist and whines wordlessly, not wanting to be put down "Sarah, sweetheart, I need to put you down while we shower, it's only for ten minutes ok?"

"Noooo!!! I don't wanna!" She says starting to cry, Eliot's at a loss for how to deal with this, it's not something he's encountered before.

"Hey bug! No, don't cry, why don't you want to be put down?" He asks.

"I just don't! I don't want you to go away, I just want to go to sleep!" She answers, voice still teary.

"I'm not goin' anywhere bug! I'll be right here while you shower, you'll be able to see me through the glass all the time you're in there, and once you're done you can sit here wrapped in a towel and watch me while I shower, and you'll be able to see me through the glass then too, and then we'll go to bed ok?"Eliot tries.

"Nooo, I don't want to be in the shower on my own! Mommy or Jayda always come in with me! I want you to!" She finally tells him.

"But bug, that's different, they're your mom and aunt, it's ok for them to go in the shower with you, it's not alright for me to" Eliot explains.

"Why not?" She asks, meaning he was going to have to make those uncomfortable explanations after all.

"Because I'm a boy" he says hoping desperately that she won't ask more.

"And? You're my daddy, I don't understand" she tells him.

"Well, some people have a bad interest in little girls and boys, and they might take advantage of a boy or girl in such a situation, since a lot of the people like that are men it's frowned on for any man to be naked with a little child, just in case he's a bad man" Eliot explains, hating that he has to destroy his daughters innocence in this way.

"But you said it was ok for us to be naked in front of each other because we're were's and we have to be naked to Change, so what's the difference?" she asks him.

He thinks just for a moment before speaking "you're right, this isn't any different than when we're Changin', so we can go in the shower together, but I can't carry you and you have to wash yourself ok?" He tells her, finally finding something he can insist on saying No to when it comes to her.

"But..." she starts before being cut off.

"No, those are the rules ok? We wash ourselves and then can have cuddles once our pajamas are on" he insists.

"Ok" she gusts out in a defeated sigh, allowing him to finally put her down and go to the cabinet for towels, once he has the towels hung on the hooks he gestures Sarah to come to him, takes a deep breath and takes her blanket from her, quickly folding it up and putting it on the counter before doing the same with his own, taking another deep breath and turning to head into the shower.

"C'mon bug, quicker we're in, quicker we're in bed" he tells her, holding the door to the shower open for her to enter, and closing it behind her, before stepping over and turning the shower on, they're instantly pelted with hot water, not hot the way Jayda would have it, but the way he would and he briefly wonders how she gets such brilliant water pressure, before turning to Sarah to get her started washing.

He finds she's already started but disturbingly also finds that his junk is at face height to her, so he kneels down so he's on her level and starts to wash himself with the body wash she hands him, the vanilla one, and he's not sure when or where she picked it up but he's glad she did, the scent reminding him of being in the bath with Jayda and burying his nose into her hair to go to sleep, her body wrapped around his as he was wrapped around her back, as he drifts back to the here and now from his memories he's mortified to discover that not only is he getting hard from the memories but while less than fully aware he's started to rub himself, he instantly stops, pulling his hands away before turning his hips to try to hide his body's reaction, but he's pretty sure it's been noticed and he'll be asked about it at a later time.

He finishes washing quickly, keeping his hands as far away from his dick as he can while still being thorough, trying desperately to think about anything that'll make him wilt, eventually Sarah says "daddy? Are you alright? You're very red" reminding him how embarrassed he is, but at least being so embarrassed is helping his problem go away.

He asks her "you done bug? Are you sqqqueeeaaakkkyyy clean?" In a falsetto, making her giggle, and making him smile as she nods at him "off you go, out! I'll get your towel down for you" he tells her.

"You don't need to! I can get my own towel down from the hook!" She tells him to his surprise, he'd thought she would continue to be clingy but she seems to have gotten past it, until she adds "I'll go and sit in the bed while you have 'private daddy time'" making his face and chest flame all over again.

"What do you mean bug?" He asks, wanting to immediately bite the words back.

"Well you need private time right? That's what it means when that happens isn't it?" She elaborates.

Unable to stop himself he asks "what what means?"

"When your dick stands up, it means you need alone time, I'm not sure why... but I think it has something to do with sex" she tells him, starting to look a little unsure.

"Yeah bug that's what it means, but I don't nee..." he starts, but she talks over him as soon as he finishes his first sentence.

"Then I'll go into the bedroom" she tells him trotting across the floor and out of the room, towel flying behind her like a cape.

Sighing in defeat Eliot decides to take advantage of the situation and climbs to his feet, if he was lucky by the time he was done she'd be more than half asleep, and easy to put into her pajamas and put to bed.

He leans down to get the bottle of body wash knowing the scent will help, as proven earlier, and it'd do as a replacement for lube, pouring just a little into his hand and smoothing it over himself, before taking hold of himself and starting to work himself in all the ways he knows work best, the scent hitting his nose almost instantly, plunging him into memories of holding Jayda in vanilla scented steam, kissing her gently, letting the kiss get more passionate, pulling her to him, her breasts crushed up against his chest, her flat belly up against his, his cock rubbing between them, leaving wide smears of precum across the soft skin below her navel, remembering the tiny taste of her he got when he made his mistake, that moment of having his mouth on her, even that being enough to make her shudder with want, then taking her, here in the bathroom the next day, her up on the counter, him plunging into her, feeling her hot wet softness enveloping him and squeezing him, her reaching between them to stimulate his knot, making him growl and ram into her harder, her pulling on that perfect little ring of hers, mewling and gasping as she tightens around him, having her on her hands and knees, mounting her and showing her how his wolf wants her, hammering into her, getting her off with nothing but his hard cock, knot blown, filling her with his cum, getting her heavy with pups.... this is the thought that tips him over the edge, the mental image of her so heavy with their children, ready to give birth any day, to him it's the most erotic thing he could think of and it seems his body agrees as he cums all over the tiled wall of the shower with a growl that would have been a howl if he'd let it, he stands there leaning on his forearm, resting against the wall, catching his breath, when he realises that his knot hadn't blown, he's definitely not in rut any longer.

Feeling only a little surprised by this he washes the wall down, making sure all sign of his pleasure is gone before turning off the shower and grabbing his towel, he quickly dries himself and goes into the bedroom where Sarah is curled up on the bed staring out through the roof, and God he was never going to get used to that, humming to herself.

As he pulls on the sweatpants he'd found, her eyes flick over to him then back to the ceiling and she's still humming, then it dawns on him he knows that tune, it's one of the ones he'd played for her last night, once he's got the drawstring tied tight enough the sweatpants won't instantly fall back off him he sits on the bed and says "c'mere bug, lets get you into your pajamas"

She crawls over to him, slowly trailing her towel behind her, and plops herself down in front of him tiredly, holding her arms out for the sweater-style top of the pajamas to be pulled over them, once it's on Eliot stands her up on the bed making sure her legs are dry before getting her to step into a pair of clean panties followed by the pants of her pajamas, once she's all dressed he shoo's her to the top of the bed while he takes the towels and dumps them into the laundry hamper, once he's done that he realises how cold the room is getting and hopes there's some sort of central heating or they might need to start sleeping downstairs, he pulls on his sweater, glad for the warmth and climbs into the bed next to Sarah who is already snuggling down under the quilts without him having to encourage her, and she looks up at the ceiling again.

"Look daddy! It's snowing! It's so pretty!" She says pointing at the ceiling, before swiftly pulling her arm back under the covers.

"Yeah bug, it's really pretty, just like you" he tells her, before rolling over to cuddle up to her, she turns so her back is to him and he pulls her against his chest, making them both feel more secure, he feels her relax and drift off, going limp in his arms, as he waits to go to sleep he realises he can taste minestrone soup, the homemade kind like they sell at the diner in town, he hasn't had anything like it in a long time, he used to eat it with Jayda in the winter, when they were teens, mainly because it was the only one they made that she actually liked, so even though he wasn't keen he'd still have some with her, but why was he tasting it now?

Then he remembers what Diwali was saying about the unique Bond between the True Alpha and his Mate 'it manifests as an empathy, knowing each other's mood, feeling pain or pleasure as the other does, sometimes sharing tastes or sounds or other sensations', was this what she was eating now? Was she being given a hot meal of soup?, he hopes so, hopes she can feel his love over their Bond, how much he misses her and needs her, and that he's coming for her, as quickly as he can, as he concentrates on the sensations crossing their Bond, like the ache in his lower belly as well as his wrist, and as he slowly slides into sleep, he sees in his mind the concerned face of a man leaning over him.

JAYDA

Eric awakens her when he returns, gently shaking her awake to sit her up against his side and feed her soup with thick slabs of buttered bread, she knows by the time she stops eating, that she's eaten more than one portion of soup and over half a loaf of bread, she feels uncomfortably full for the first time in a very long time and is now even more tired than she was before, Eric slowly and gently lays her back down into her nest, pulling the quilts and blankets up to her chin, while again all she can think of is Eliot and being in his arms, feeling her grief welling within her again because he feels so close but she knows he's forever beyond her reach, seeing her tears Eric leans over her with concern written large on his face and says "for tonight you're safe and warm, make as much of it as you can, don't give up, they're gonna come for you real soon, I'm sure" but by the time he's finished she's already dead asleep.


	19. Punishments and plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot sees more signs of what Diwali told him being true, Eric finally manages to get a message to the family, Quinn surprises Ruby and Jayda is subjected to another punishment - with a surprising ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS FOR
> 
> TALK OF F.G.M.  
> TALK OF PERFORMING NON-CONSENTUAL F.G.M.  
> TORTURE  
> TALK OF MISCARRIAGE   
> MISCARRIAGE   
> NONCONSENTUAL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT  
> GENERAL VIOLENCE AGAINST A FEMALE CHARACTER  
> CHARACTER DEATH  
> TALK OF MEDICAL PROCEDURES 
> 
> this might not be everything, if I've forgotten anything just let me know
> 
> So am writing a chapter of schmoop at the moment, but I hope you'll all like it but that's like six chapters away, the more and better the comments the quicker I'll get to uploading them, so let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy darlin's

QUINN

Quinn wakes up in the predawn darkness and for a moment wonders where he is, then he remembers Ruby and that he's home in bed with her, or rather he had been, as she's not in the bed with him anymore. He rolls to the side and looks for light coming under the bedroom door from the hallway, or from under the bathroom door. He finds that the bathroom light is on, so figures that's where Ruby is most likely to be.

He slides out of bed and pads to the bathroom door, tapping gently on it he calls out "Ruby? You in there baby? Are you ok?"

"Oh! .... Sean, I.. I.. I'm ok, just need a minute!" She answers, sniffling and hiccuping all the way through.

"Hey! What's wrong? Can I come in?" He asks, full of concern.

"NO! I mean.... if you want to, I'm ok though, I promise!" She says, running down to a whisper by the end.

Quinn takes a deep breath and huffs it out, not wanting to intrude but not wanting her to be upset and alone when he could be comforting her. In the end he decides checking she's ok is more important than her reluctance to have him come in, and pushes the door open slowly.

When he sees her she's sat naked on the floor, wedged into the gap between the sink pedestal and the side of the bath, knees pulled up against her chest, with her arms wrapped tight around them and most of her face hidden behind her knees, only her huge, beautiful, amber coloured eyes visible.

"Hey, what's wrong gorgeous? Why're you hiding in here crying?" He asks, kneeling down in front of her and reaching out to stroke her hair on one side of her face tenderly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...." she starts, hiccuping until he interrupts her.

"No, don't apologise, I just wanna know what's wrong, have I done something wrong? Have I hurt you?"

"NO! You've done nothing wrong at all! How could you think that? You've done nothing but make me feel safe, happy, confident and loved, I just... I just hate that I've wasted so much of my life. I've stayed here, let him abuse me, and the girls. I've let him for...., ra..., make me do things I didn't want to, and now you come into my life like some kind of white knight in a fairytale. You rescue me and Jane, force him to leave and never come back, and then you take me to bed and make love to me. Something no-ones ever done before, He only ever _fucked_ me. But you? you're patient with me, don't mind that I'm broken, and you make me get wet, and open up to you so we can be together without it hurting. I've _never_ had any of that happen, let alone have sex feel good at all, but being with you is more than good, it's... perfect, and now I'm scared that you're going to leave and I'll never feel like this again! I haven't loved Jared for a very long time, if I ever did, but you? You I love with all of me, I've never felt like this before, and I never want it to end, but I'm scared.... scared you don't feel the same way, or that this is just a fling or something to you, I'm just so frightened...." she babbles out, barely breathing between sentences and hugging her knees tighter to herself as she goes along.

"Hey, shhh..." he calms her as he coaxes her out of the small gap she's in, pulling her into his arms as soon as he's able, sitting on the cold bathroom tile in a tangle of legs, rocking her gently before continuing "you haven't wasted any of your life, you've built a business, raised two beautiful, intelligent, well-mannered girls, you've gotten the girls away from Jared, and now you've experienced how making love is meant to be, and while it's a damn shame you've only experienced it for the first time today, you've still got the rest of your life to carry on feeling it, I've got no intention of leaving you, ever, although I will have to travel away for work, I always intend to come home to my girls, every time, because you're not just a fling or something to me, I love you, I love you so much i'd lay down and die for you, and I don't ever want to lose you, you're too special, I never thought i'd ever love someone like this again, I... I just want you to know how important you are..."

They sit in silence for a while, cuddled up together on the tile floor, before Quinn lets go of her suddenly and gets up on his knees "Ruby, I don't have anything to give you to show you how important you are except this" he says as he fiddles about at the back of his neck, before removing his cross necklace and holding it out to her.

"But... but I can't take that! It has too much meaning to you!" She exclaims shaking her head and pushing his hands back towards him.

"Sweetheart, it's _because_ you have so much meaning to me that it's a perfect way for me to show you how important YOU are, that I trust you with the one memory I have of the only other person I ever loved, and I know you'll keep it safe, until I can get you an engagement ring" he tells her, ending with a shy smile and lowered eyes that peek out at her from under his eyelashes.

She stares at him with her mouth hanging open, as he lifts his arms again and secures the delicate chain around her neck while she's distracted "did you... did I hear.. did you just propose to me?" She asks, squeaking out the last few syllables.

"Eerrr.... yeah?" He answers, his face starting to go red under her direct stare.

"You realise I'm still married to Jared, right?" She asks, completely in shock at this turn of events.

"So, we'll have a long engagement" he answers, before asking "that is if you intend to say yes?"

"Of course yes!" She shouts at him, throwing herself fully into his arms and knocking them both to the cold floor, giggling.

When he manages to get hold of her properly Quinn lays with her on top of him and tells her "I love you, with all my heart, and my other bits too" staring into her eyes and grinning a little.

And she stares down at him, smiling softly and replies "I love you with all my heart too, and my other bits think you're the most awesome man ever, so I'm pretty sure they love you too"

They lay there just staring into each other's eyes and smiling until Quinn raises an eyebrow and says "this floor is kinda cold you know, and we have a nice, warm, soft bed just over there"

"Oh god! Why didn't you say something sooner! C'mon, lets get back to bed..." she tells him scrambling to her feet and pulling him up to his, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him as she pulls him back towards the bed, falling onto it when they reach the side of it.

"Mmmpppphhhh.... " Quinn grunts out into their kiss as he lands, pulling his mouth free for a few moments he says "here, get into the bed properly" before manoeuvring them around so that they are both back in the bed.

He's laying over her, caressing her breasts and hips while he kisses her, when he hears a distant howl, for a moment he stops and raises his head, wondering if it's Eliot before Ruby says to him "that'll be Caleb letting Bruce know he's near, lets go back to sleep for a bit to give them some time together" hugging him to her with the arms she has wrapped around his neck still.

"Ok" Quinn answers, sliding over so he's next to her rather than on top of her. As he does she rolls onto her side, turning her back to Quinn, before grabbing his arm and pulling it over her waist. Taking the hint he cuddles up behind her, fitting his body to her smaller one, one arm under her neck, supporting her head, but unable to hide from her how excited he'd become from their kissing and his touching her body.

When his straining cock fits along her asscrack and the gap at the top of her thighs, she gasps quietly, her hand coming back over his side to grab his ass and pull him as tight against her as possible. He groans deep in his throat, rubbing against her just a little, making her whimper in need.

"Do you want this?" He asks, knowing she could well be whimpering because she's sore from earlier or because she feels frightened, although he hopes that's not the case.

"Yes, want you so much, but I don't know how..." she tells him, letting him know she definitely wants him.

"Trust me, baby, I'll show you how..." he whispers, trailing off into kissing her neck and shoulders, as he does he slides his hand down from her waist, gently brushing over her injured mound, until he can slide his fingers between her thighs and gently lifts the top one to about equivalent to twelve inches at the knee.

Once her leg is raised he slides his hand further inward, separating her lips and sliding his fingers along her slit towards her hole, but he encounters a surprise before he even gets there, because she's _wet_ , fully and totally wet and relaxed, ready for him.

He's amazed by this, to have gained her trust, so easily, just by being decent, honest and nice to her, he's so glad he's managed to find her, and be the one to finally treat her right, although he would prefer she had never been mistreated in the first place. He brings his hand back over her hip, so that he can rub his cock in her wetness, coating himself, before bringing himself back to her entrance, and then rubbing around her hole with his cockhead, letting her know he was going to try entering her without further preparation.

Unconsciously she tips her hips backwards, making it easier for him to enter her smoothly, and he accepts the invitation, sliding his tip into her, feeling how although her muscles are clenching, it's in a pulling gesture rather than a pushing one. She's not trying to make him leave her body, she's trying to get him to move further in.

He brings his hand back up to her hip, using it to hold her still, he pushes into her further, that ring of tight muscles still clenched enough he can feel it, but not so much that it makes this impossible or painful for either of them. Once the head of his cock is past them she lets out a little mewl, making him stop and ask "you ok? I haven't hurt you?"

"No, I'm good, you just feel so right, feels so perfect..." she tells him, clenching down on him slightly to stimulate him more and show him how much she likes it. He growls out, pulling her closer to him until their bodies are as close as they can get, her pert ass crushed against his pelvis as he starts to rock into her, eliciting a series of squeaks every time he gets as deep as he can, but this time he knows it's from pleasure and want, because she still has hold of his ass and is pulling him forwards into her on every move forwards he makes.

"Oh!...MMmmm....please, Sean...... harder...." she begs, pulling at his ass and hip desperately as she gasps and pants, making him step up the force behind his rocking motions and pull her more roughly onto him, but still trying to be so careful not to hurt her in any way.

He's still kissing her neck as he moves the arm he has under her neck down under her body, so that he can take hold of one of her breasts, and start caressing it as he uses it to pull her fully up against his chest, changing the angle he's at inside her. Once she's up against him her panting becomes much louder, with a quiet whine starting that doesn't stop even as she breathes, but she's still pulling on his hip roughly, trying to speed him up and get him to use more force in his thrusts.

Even once Quinn is thrusting as hard and as fast as he can in this position, Ruby is still trying to get him to go faster and harder, she's leaving bruises on his hip, not that he minds, because she's gripping him so hard in her desperation, so Quinn decides the only way he can give her what she wants is to change position. He takes his hand from her hip and slides it down her top leg until he reaches her knee, he pulls her knee up in front of her, until it's at a right angle to her body, and then gently rolls her forward onto it, so that she's half on her side and half on her front, supported by her bent leg. He leans forwards against her and slides his top leg in between hers, giving him more leverage to thrust into her.

As he continues at his new, faster, harder pace, her whine starts to build in volume, she grips the sheet under them and pulls at it, still panting desperately, trying to take in enough air as she pants it all back out, and lifts her hips towards him, it's when he thrusts into her like this that her panting whine changes to "ah!... ah, yes!... there!..."

Knowing he's hitting the right spot inside of her, and feeling that she's speeding towards an orgasm by the squeezing of her muscles around him, he begins to let go of his control over himself, his thrusting starting to become slightly erratic, as he draws closer to his own orgasm.

"Are you nearly there, sweetheart?" He asks, whispering into her ear, receiving a sobbing moan in return.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asks, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Want to.... need to..... but I CAN'T!!" She cries out, sounding so heartbroken.

"Don't worry, I'll get you there" he promises, sliding his hand down from her waist and between her parted legs, once he finds her clit, standing out from between her lips, he grips it gently between his thumb and index finger, using them to slide along its length in a similar motion to a man masturbating, squeezing slightly as he comes to the tip. At each caress she lets out an "aaahhhhhh!!!!" And tightens down on him hard as he continues to thrust into her firmly.

"Oh! Ah! I'm gonna..... MMMmmmm..... I'm going to..... AHH, SEAN!!!!" She screams out as she cums, and this time he feels her gush over him, down the length of his cock and over the front of his balls, completely covered in her cum while her muscles massage at his cock, drawing him into following her into cumming, filling her with his seed, part of him wishing it was possible he could have a child with her. Once he's finished cumming he goes to pull out, remembering that she was sore last time, just to feel her hand clamp back onto his hip pulling him back into her.

"Don't, don't leave me, just stay like this, just for a little while..." she begs, and he can't say no to her, so he rolls her back onto her side, out of the wet patch she just made, and snuggles up to her back, kissing her neck and whispering to her, about how much he loves her, and all the things he wants them to do together, until they both fall asleep, happy together.

JAYDA

Jayda is awoken when her wrist hits the concrete floor _hard_ , quickly followed by her body landing on top of it.

She looks up in the direction she's just been rolled from and sees a different henchman, standing there kinda grinning at her, or maybe just baring his teeth, it was hard to say, but either way it scares her, he's holding the tarp and blankets in a roll under his arm, obviously he'd literally just pulled them out from underneath her, making her roll with the momentum and land on her wrist.

"What's wrong? Didn't like the job the other henchman was doin'? And there you were only yesterday boastin' about how good he was!" She calls out, trying to find out what happened to Eric, had he been found out? Had he abandoned her?

"Don't worry Bitch, he'll be back later, he just needed to get some sleep since he sat up all night to make sure you didn't try to escape, he'll be back in time for your punishment later" the voice answers her, unknowingly giving her a huge feeling of relief, but since he was waking her now he obviously had something he wanted to have done to her.

"So why is goon number eight here? If I'm not gettin' punished until later then why bring him here with you? Too scared to get within arms reach of me?" She goads, she knows she should keep her mouth shut but she hates not knowing what's coming, so she goads him so he'll tell her.

"Well, since you were so filthy yesterday and didn't wash properly, I've decided you need cleaning, after all we don't want your cuts getting infected, so guess what we're going to do?" He tells her, sing-songing the end.

"NO! I'm not just goin' to let you do that to me again! I'll kill anyone who tries to touch me!" She screams at him, worried that he's either intending using The Implement or the threatened douche on her, either being too much of a risk for her to take at this point.

"If not now then later, I promise you won't be able to fight later, it will hurt more and I'll do the things you're worried about if we have to wait until then" he promises her his voice full of smugness.

"I'll give you an hour to decide" he says before turning and leaving, his goon following him.

As she sits worrying about what to do the pain in her wrist begins to ebb, but in its place there is an ache in her stomach, low down below her navel, she assumes it's from all the internal tearing the goons and their boss had caused to her, but knowing that doesn't make it hurt any less.

After about twenty minutes the pain in her stomach has gotten progressively worse, and she's laid down on her side, her wrist pulled to her chest, she knows that if it was just the tears hurting it wouldn't be getting worse, getting to the point where she's almost crying with it, and there's a word running around in her head but she's refusing to think about it, refusing to acknowledge it, hoping if she ignores it then that can't be what's happening to her, but deep in her heart she knows, and that's what finally has her crying, not the physical pain but the emotional, the knowledge that she's losing this one last part of Eliot and there's nothing she can do.

When he returns after her hour is over she hears him come to the edge of the light, after a minute of silence he says "so your body's smarter than you are, getting rid of that mongrels _spawn_ " having obviously noticed the trickle of blood slipping across the back of her thigh to the concrete beneath her.

"I'll leave you to think about that until it's time to punish you, we can always scrub you later" he says, a laugh in his voice as he leaves the room, slamming the heavy door behind him, leaving her in ringing silence, where yet again she weeps for what she's lost.

ELIOT

Eliot's awoken by a searing pain in his wrist, it quickly ebbs but he's awake now, Sarah is still sleeping, so he turns on his back and looks up to the ceiling, expecting to see the edges of trees and what he guesses would be a cloudy sky.

Instead all he sees is white, the whole ceiling covered in a thick enough layer of snow that there's no sign or shadow against it.

Eliot suddenly just knows that he needs to get Jayda back urgently, both he and Sarah have sensed how cold Jayda is, she may have been warm last night but there is no guarantee that she'll stay that way, and he can't risk her being left somewhere where she's at risk of exposure to the temperature or the elements.

He decides to go and make himself some coffee and Sarah some breakfast, thinking he'll call Hardison and see what he's found out overnight, after slipping his arm out from under Sarah he decides to stay in Jayda's clothes, they're warm and comfortable and already cosy from being slept in, he debates carrying Sarah downstairs to lay her in front of the fire to keep her warm but decides he doesn't want her to accidentally overhear some of the things he's gonna be saying and wraps her up in the blankets.

Once downstairs he starts the coffee before he goes and stands in front of the open door to the huge fridge in Jayda's kitchen, trying to decide what to make for breakfast, in the end he decides on bacon, sausages, eggs, mushrooms and toast, he could get the eggs ready and prep the meat and mushrooms and then just turn the heat on when Sarah was ready to eat.

Eliot reaches into the huge carton of eggs Diwali had sent, and takes out a half dozen in a couple of handfuls, as he turns to the island counter to put them down, he's doubled over by a stabbing pain in his lower stomach, making him drop most of the eggs and crush two in his spasming hand, the pain reduces to a dull, throbbing, clenching sensation quickly, but by then the damage is done, as he washes his hand and cleans up the floor Eliot focuses on his Bond with Jayda, relaxing his mind by concentrating on his breathing, once the floor is clean he stays squatted down and leans his back against the kitchen counter, still counting his breaths but focused on Jayda.

He doesn't get any sensations from her, no smell or taste, but when he comes out of his concentration he finds he feels an overwhelming sensation of _loss_ , a depression so deep it scares him, and his face is wet, he's been crying, he tries to shut down the Bond a little, so that he's not pushed too far by these emotions, but doesn't try to close it all the way, not wanting her to feel cut off if she's managed to understand what the Bond is.

Getting up Eliot goes to the fridge again and retrieves more eggs and a little cheese, he whisks up his mixture for scrambled eggs, seasoning it as required until it's ready, once he's done he covers the bowl and places it in the fridge, he pours a coffee and picks up his phone from the breakfast counter where he left it last night.

He's only a little surprised to find a string of texts from Alec from over the span of the night, seeing that it was only seven am he wonders whether Hardison had gotten any sleep the night before at all.

After quickly scanning the badly typed texts, which told him nothing more than Eliot had to call him AS SOON AS HE GOT THIS MESSAGE DAMMIT, Eliot follows instructions and calls Hardison's cell.

It's picked up on the second ring by a very hyper Hardison, who doesn't even let him get a word out.

"ELIOT!! What took you so long? I got news! Samantha was seen in town last night, and guess who she was with? Jared! They went bar crawling before going back out of town in his truck about three am! From the cctv I've found of them in the bars and walking down Main Street, they are a lot more than just friends and work colleagues, if you get my meaning, as well as that, neither of them have a booking at the only motel in town, in fact none of the 'bulky' guys do either, wherever they're staying it's not there and since he didn't turn up at yours or Ruby's it means he's got somewhere in or near town, I've looked at the pictures of the houses with basements, one has rampant honeysuckle growing all around the door and porch, it's derelict now and recently had its power usage skyrocket, but the best bit? It used to belong to Jared's grandmothers family! it's on the far side of the woods from where you are, Diwali's house is between you and there, it's six miles from you and two from us, I've gotten the cctv picture from the van hire to a usable point, and guess who was playing the part of Damien Moreau? Yep, Jared again, i'd say it looks like he and Samantha were behind it all, whether Moreau was in on it or they just stole his money I don't know yet, but I'm looking, Diwali says I should remind you not to go off half-cocked and alone to get Jared, because you got Sarah to think about and you can't leave her alone or take her into there with you, aright?"

"Well good mornin' to you too Hardison, did you sleep at all?" Eliot asks, still trying to assimilate everything Hardison just info-dumped at him.

"Why are you so calm? I just told you I think I found her! I've stayed up all night going through data and photos and land ownership records and cctv and YOU'RE CALM?" Hardison rants.

"How much orange soda have you drank over night Alec?" Eliot asks concernedly.

"A few litres, why?" Hardison answers, jittering so much you could hear it in his voice.

"Damnit Hardison! You're ODin' on sugar and E numbers, stop drinkin' soda, drink some water, tell Parker and Diwali everythin' we need to know and go to bed, alright? Or I'll kick your ass, _hard_!" Eliot tells him, genuinely worried about what the hacker has done to himself to help him.

"But..." Hardison starts.

"No buts, this is for your own health and safety, ok?" Eliot insists.

"Ok, I don't know when they'll be over, I think they're waiting on Quinn, Diwali says to stay where you are, they'll come to you." Hardison relays from his location.

"Alright, I'll be waitin', see you later Alec" Eliot agrees before hanging up the phone and leaning against the counter, his guts clenching like he's got bad food poisoning, making him feel like going back to bed, which is something he never does, no matter how sick he is, he's more of a blanket on the sofa kinda guy, and even then only if it's bad enough to actually stop him from following his normal routine.

He's just considering bed again when he hears careful footsteps coming down the stairs, deciding him on staying up.

"Hey, bug!" He greets his daughter, his voice sounding significantly rougher than normal.

"Hey, daddy!" She chirps once she reaches the ground floor, still in her pajamas and wrapped in her blanket again, once she reaches his side she says "are you alright? Your voice is funny, and you're really pale, and you smell like you're either sick or in pain, I can't tell which"

He looks down at her, marvelling all over again, that this tiny creature was so clever when she came from him, before answering "I've got an upset tummy, that's all, do you want some breakfast?"

She thinks for a few seconds before saying "yes please!" Obviously deciding to believe him about what's wrong, well it's not a _lie_ after all, just an omission.

Eliot cooks as quickly, cleanly and efficiently as always, putting Sarah's breakfast on the breakfast bar and lifting her onto one of the stools so she can eat while he stokes the fire, even though he's already sweating, he can feel how cold Sarah's skin is so he knows it's cold in the house still, his temperature is because of whatever is wrong with him, he'd have to ask Diwali about heating the house when he arrives.

By the time the fire is sorted and Sarah's finished eating Eliot is running with sweat, worse than when he's in rut and he's starting to really worry about what's wrong, is it something he's eaten? Did Diwali miss a sliver of bullet that was killing him with silver poisoning slowly? Or is this in reaction to something that's wrong with Jayda? He hopes it's one of the first two, he doesn't want to think about what could be happening to Jayda to make him feel this way.

Once he's got Sarah down from her stool he sets her up on the sofa with her blanket and drawing materials and tells her "I'm just poppin' outside to see how bad the snow is ok? I'll just be on the porch if you need me, but you should be fine for five minutes, alright?"

"Alright, are you going to try to find that scent from last night again?" She asks him, reminding him of something he'd been trying to put out of his mind.

"No bug, I'll be stayin' on the porch, I'm not goin' anywhere I promise" he tells her, smiling.

"Ok!" She says going back to her drawing.

Once she's fully distracted Eliot slips out of the front door, finding that a couple of feet of snow had fallen while he and Sarah had been asleep, he walks to the end of the porch and finds a slight drift up against the side of the house, it wasn't too high but was perfect for what he needed, thrusting both hands wrist-deep into the snow, using it to cool both his skin and his blood as it flows close to the surface in his hands and wrists, after nearly a minute he's stopped sweating and feels a little less lightheaded, and his teeth are starting to chatter so he pulls his hands back, finding them red and chapped, just like he expected, but feeling better by the minute.

After a minute of having his hands in his pockets trying to warm them just a little he goes back inside, he'll sit with Sarah until the others arrive or call, and try to distract himself.

JAYDA

As she lays there, stomach cramping and bleeding, eventually she stops crying, she just goes numb, there's nothing left for her, she might have only been a few days along, but the abuse she's suffered has killed the child she never thought she'd be able to have, and with Eliot gone she'll never have another now, she hates knowing that she's only bleeding now because of her loss, her period hadn't been due for another ten days, and she's always on time, she's never been early or late, that's how she'd known straight away she was pregnant with Sarah, but now all is lost and she just can't cry anymore, because if she starts again she may never stop.

As she lays waiting for her 'punishment' she wonders what he has in store for her, more cutting?, whipping again?, acid maybe?, hell maybe he was going to blind her, cut her tongue out or deafen her, maybe pull all her teeth so she can't bite again? And this is only punishment two of three, and she's sure tomorrow will be the worst, plus they're gonna scrub her again, and she's got no excuse to stop him using The Implement and his douches on her, she knows that now it's time, time to push him into killing her.

She hears the door at the top of the basement stairs opening and then two sets of footfalls coming down, the big door opens and they come into the room, walking towards her and stopping just outside the light, but this time she doesn't react, just stays laid with her back to them, ignoring them, hoping to piss him off.

"Come on Bitch! Look alive!" He calls, sniggering at the end, obviously thinking it's funny to mock the death of her baby "no? Not feeling like it? Tough! It's time for your punishment, now you can either comply peacefully and I'll allow my man to coddle you again tonight, and believe me you'll want him to after this, or you can make it hard and freeze your ass off all night, and just so you know, there's somewhere between two and three feet of snow on the ground outside, so what's it gonna be?"

"Will you tell me somethin'? If I comply?" She asks quietly.

"Depends on what you want to know, but if you comply peacefully then I promise I'll answer two questions for you, if you ask one I can't or won't answer then you'll get to ask another until either you run out of questions or I can answer two, and you'll still be coddled, do we have a deal?" He offers her.

"We have a deal" she says, knowing she's gonna regret it in some way, but wanting to know the answers more, and it's not like they won't get her how they want her anyway, at least this way she doesn't end up drugged in some way again.

"Ok I want you laid flat on your front, your arms folded under your head, your lower legs vertical from the knees, as if you were balancing a tray of drinks on the soles of your feet, do it now!" He commands, but she doesn't move quick enough for henchman number eight's tastes and he comes into the light and drop kicks her in the right front and side of her stomach full force with his steel toed boots, making her scream out uncontrollably.

"STOP! _What_ do you think you're doing? I didn't tell you to do that! She was complying! You're fired! go get the usual guy and tell him to get down here, you pack your gear and get out before I'm done with her!" Her captor screams at number eight, obviously not happy his somewhat inner control freak isn't being catered to.

Once the henchman has stomped his way up the stairs her captor speaks to her again "for that you get an extra question and my man can feed you whatever he wants tonight, I'll answer the extra question now while we wait"

She looks over in the direction his voice was coming from, holding herself where she was kicked, worrying about the stabbing pain she now feels just below her ribs on her right hand side, but as usual he's in the darkness so she takes a breath and licks her lips, thinking, "what are the remainin' punishments goin' to be?" She asks, a little confused about the weird position he was asking her to get into.

"I won't answer that yet, but I promise I will once you're secured the way I want you, ask another" he tells her.

"Why and how have you done all this? I just can't get my head around everythin', please explain it?" She asks quietly.

"Technically that's two questions, but I'll let them count as one" he points out, before launching into his explanation "have you ever watched a were Change? It's disgusting, the first time Sarah Changed I walked in on her, she'd had a fever all day and i'd heard something from her room, so I just went to check and find her mid-Change, the minute I realised what was happening I knew who her sperm donor had been, that filthy, mongrel, half-breed you've always been so obsessed with, I should have guessed really, but I knew I couldn't have my daughter be like that _filthy cur_ , so I needed to cure her, one by one I stole and read all the Shaman diaries, looking for any mention of a cure, but nothing, the only mention of anyone being Changed or 'made better' was in one of the oldest diaries, it was hard to read as the language is rather different to what we use now but it said the wolf-soul stone had something to do with it, so I looked up Eliot, found where he was, what he'd been doing ever since Sarah was born, found out about how he put Damien Moreau in prison after having worked for him in the past and managed to find someone who hates him almost as much as I do, Samantha even had a plan, she went to visit Moreau in the prison, told him she wanted to get revenge on his behalf on Eliot, and he just handed over the pass codes for his account, so we started trying to buy the wolf-soul stone, but your father was having none of it, so I leaked Eliot's address to you, via a few contacts I've made over the years, expecting you to go running to him, but five months later and you'd made no contact, so we needed to push you into it, so we fake kidnapped my own daughter, she was never at any risk, but you didn't know that and you willingly swapped yourself for her, meaning I could interrogate you about the cure and the infecting of people, and then thanks to trouble Ruby and Sarah caused I had a reason to interrogate your father too, who lied to me just the way you did, but now he's dead I'm going to go get the amulet and save Sarah from being one of those monsters, so she can be a normal little girl and have a NORMAL life, and there's nothing you can do to stop me, you'll go to the genetics lab where they'll find out how to infect people and how to cure people using your D.N.A. Then they'll Sell the infecting information to the government for use in soldiers and the cure for those accidentally infected like Sarah, but the reason I want her cured most of all, which is what I think you really want to know is, I can't stand the idea of MY little girl having anything linking her to that pathetic monster you call Eliot, I've always _hated_ him and his whole family, they should all be wiped off the face of the earth, and once Sarah's cured I'll be one step closer to achieving that dream."

Once he finishes the room rings in silence, she's in shock that his hatred runs so deep against a man who's never done anything wrong to him, not just hate towards him but his whole family, including the little girl that this man has brought up for the past seven and a half years, she can't think of anything to say to what's been revealed.

Just as she's grasping, trying to think of an answer, any answer, there is a throat cleared from over by the door, and then he speaks again "ah good, you're here, bring the contraption here and secure her in it, you lay face down as I instructed" he tells her, she does lay flat on her front with her feet in the air but keeps her right hand against her side, as putting slight pressure on the injury makes it hurt a little less.

Eric comes into the light carrying the weird stocks and places them by her feet, making adjustments until the neck/wrist part is horizontal, parallel to the floor and at the right height to secure her ankles through the wrist holes, Eric brings 'the contraption' forward until it rests against her knees and then secures her ankles, before adding a strap across her toes on each foot holding the foot flat.

Once she's fully secured she asks "do I get my questions now? Before we start?"

"Yes, go ahead, I know you want to know my plans for you, what else would you like to know?" He acquiesces.

"What's goin' to happen to Ruby and the girls? Are you goin' to hurt them?" She asks, worrying about the only family she has left.

"We're going to continue being a happy family, she'll be sad for a while of course, her sister vanished without a trace and her father dead, but once Sarah is cured and normal she'll get over it and we'll keep making more money, everyone will be happy, except you of course, maybe once you're no longer required your body will be dumped on the doorstep, just so she can get over it, cause I know she'll just moan on about you til she knows you're dead, but she'll be fine." He tells her, obviously taking pleasure in describing her death, but seeming to be telling the truth about not hurting Ruby or the girls, except for 'curing' Sarah that is.

"Ok, so last question, what are you goin' to do to me now and tomorrow?" She asks dreading the answer, knowing this is going to decide when she's going to try to get him to kill her, she takes as deep a breath as she can with the pain in her abdomen as he begins to speak.

"I've been reliably informed that you're rather an expert on torture, so I'll ask, have you ever heard of _bastinado_?" He asks.

"It sounds familiar but I can't remember right now" she admits to him.

"Well you'll remember soon enough, and I promise you'll never forget again after today, even if you lived to be a hundred, which you won't, but bastinado is the whipping of the soles of the feet for punishment, we're going to be doing it a bit different from how it's meant to be done but it's the base for the punishment, as for tomorrow, well the last punishment had to be something _special_ , something that you'd never be able to forget no matter what happens in the future, so I thought long and hard, searched the internet, asked my men what they thought, a lot of them thought that rape in some form or another was the worst they could do, but then one said something and it got me thinking, so I went back to the internet and after some searching found detailed references to what I wanted, so tomorrow your undergoing a procedure" he tells her.

"What 'procedure'? You're operatin' on me?" She asks feeling a sick twisting sensation in her guts, bile starting to fight its way up her throat.

"Well operating is a bit of a strong word, after all you won't be under anaesthesia, like that guy you went after! what was it you were going to do to him again? Castrate him? Well you're going to get a taste of your own medicine, we're going to circumcise you, as in full removal of all outer genitalia, or rather I will, I'm gonna be doing that one myself, I've read up on it specially" he tells her, sounding like taking responsibility for this act of mutilation made him proud.

The thought is too much for Jayda and she loses her fight with her gorge, lifting her upper body just enough to vomit onto the floor without covering herself or being face down in it.

"That's too bad, looks like you're getting a scrubbing straight after your whipping, but first, since you kept your end of the bargain, and I said i'd let him look after you, I'll get my man to clean that up, after all I don't want you drowning in it when you pass out from the pain, do I?" He tells her when she's finished.

Eric quickly comes in and cleans the floor under her front and head, taking a sideways look at her side and the huge black bruise that's forming from her hipbone to her breast worriedly, once the floor is clean she lays back down carefully, trying to keep her weight to her left to ease the pain some.

"Lets begin, I have other things I need to be doing" he tells Eric, making Jayda start to take steadying breaths to try and control the pain that is coming, but she can't take deep breaths at all, and even just full breaths are starting to make the pain flare when she breathes in, it's starting to worry her, but she can't focus on anything but what's about to happen right now. Once reminded she did know what bastinado was, and she knew that when done properly it didn't break the bones of the feet, and in fact the victim could walk again straight after, but somehow she doubted that anyone here knew how to do it properly.

When she hears the air being cut by a whip her body tries to flinch, but because of the straps over her toes, she can't curl her feet up, and the blow lands right in the centre of the arch of both feet. Even though she'd tried to prepare herself she can't hold back her scream, loud and piercing as it rings through the basement. The next blow however, that doesn't connect in the correct place like the first, it lands across the balls of her feet right where they join her toes, and she feels the small bones snap under the force put upon them, by what she was now sure was a hardened bamboo cane. This time she doesn't just scream, she _HOWLS_ , longer, louder and more agonised than ever before, carrying on until she is completely empty of breath, but then having a hard time refilling her lungs.

The next few blows come timed close together but are spread all over the soles of her feet, one of them making something crack in her left heel, then they go back to slowly, methodically covering her soles, in random patterns over and over again. As she howls and screams with every blow, it gets progressively harder for her to take breaths back in, until she's had to stop screaming altogether and is simply panting trying to take a breath in. Quickly she becomes lightheaded, and her vision greys out around the edges, but before she slips into unconsciousness, she thinks she hears a wolf howling.

ELIOT

Eliot has slipped into a meditation while watching Sarah draw, and when his phone rings he jumps badly, making her look up at him and giggle, to which he rolls his eyes at her. When he checks he sees that it's Quinn and answers.

"Hey, Quinn, what's happenin'?" He opens with.

"Just getting ready to move out, wanted to know whether to come to you or go to Diwali's?" He asks.

"You bringin' Ruby and Jane?" Eliot asks, wanting to know where everyone is during the rescue attempt.

"Yeah, I don't want to leave them here, I know the farm guys would look after them, but they're my responsibility now,.... _my_ family" he tells him, a little nervous of Eliot's reaction.

"Well, you better do a good job of lookin' after them, or you'll have me AND Jay to answer to! Bring them here, they can go in the panic room with Diwali and Sarah, if needs be, to keep them safe, just call Diwali and let him know you're comin' straight here so they can set off too" he says, itching to get going and get his Mate back.

"Ok, we'll be there soon" Quinn says, before hanging up.

"Daddy?" Sarah asks.

"Yeah bug?" He answers, looking down at her and smiling.

"Are you going to get Jayda now?" She asks, looking back up at him, with a little frown line between her eyebrows.

"Once everyone's here, yeah, what's up bug?" He asks, worried by her obvious unhappiness.

"What do I call Jay now? I can't call her auntie Jay anymore, it doesn't feel right, and calling her Jayda doesn't feel right either, but I don't want to call her mommy if she doesn't want me to..." she babbles, ending up looking up into his face with tears in her eyes.

"Do you want to call Jayda mommy?" He asks gently, pulling her onto his lap and cuddling her.

"Yes" she says so quietly most humans would have a hard time hearing her.

"Well, either I can warn her before she sees you, or I can ask if it's ok, and if it's not I'll tell you, would that be ok?" He asks, stroking her head lightly.

"Ok, you can ask and check it's ok, I don't want to upset anyone." She whispers into his chest, playing with the key hanging there.

"Ok, c'mon, lets go get us dressed" he says as he stands, hefting her up and onto his hip, before going and climbing the stairs, to find Sarah an outfit she wants to wear and get changed into his own clothes.

******************************************************

Eliot's just leading Sarah back down the stairs, when there's a knock on the front door, making him speed up but look over his shoulder and say "take it slow and careful, bug, ok?"

"Ok, daddy!" She agrees continuing on at the same speed, as Eliot runs across the room, he opens the front door to reveal Parker and Diwali, and Parker is bouncing on her toes like she's been eating nothing but chocolate for a week.

"ELIOT!! We know where she is!!" Parker screeches loudly as soon as she sees him.

"Parker! calm down, I know, Alec told me on the phone" he tells her, closing the door behind them.

"Nnnnooo!! Not what Alec found, we got a note from one of the guys guarding her, telling us exactly where she is, how many are there guarding her, and most importantly who was behind all this!" Parker speeds out, shaking Eliot's arms brutally as she talks.

"Parker! CALM DOWN! What exactly did the note say?" Eliot asks directing his question more to Diwali than Parker.

"It had a floor map of the property where she is being held, along with the address, which was the one Hardison found, telling us where she is and how best to get to her, numbers of men and where they are likely to be coming from, during an attack or rescue attempt, and lastly the name of the mastermind, also although there was no name given, the man who wrote it said he'd been the one entrusted with the little care he was allowed to give her, and that he's the one who will most likely be with her when we come for her, he says we'll know him because he won't be fighting us, he also says he's been trying to get in touch since the first morning, but the notes have been going astray, you'll understand that when you know who's in charge." Diwali explains in detail until Eliot growls out "who is it? Who has done this to us, old man?" Threateningly.

"Jared and Samantha with the financial backing and blessing of Damien Moreau" Diwali tells him, staring into his eyes and showing he is not afraid of the Alpha and will not be bullied by him.

Eliot is now taking deep breaths in through his nose and huffing them back out the same way, his anger is a deep crater of a volcano ready to blow, his teeth are lengthening and his eyes have turned completely gold with what looks like a red tint overlaying it, and he's growling, in a way that terrifies both Parker and Sarah, his fists are clenched so tightly there is blood dripping from one of his hands, and he's almost vibrating in place, like he's fighting to hold himself still.

"Daddy?" Sarah says quietly, reaching out to tug on his shirt but not daring to actually touch.

He looks down at her, he doesn't speak, but his growling gets quieter and he unclenches one of his fists, the unbloodied one, so he can brush her cheek with the back of his fingers, doing his best to smile at her with his teeth extended.

Just then there's a knock at the door again, and Eliot looks up at Parker, silently asking her to answer it with a quirk of his eyebrows.

Upon the door opening Eliot sees Quinn and grabs him, pulling him into the house and waving Diwali over, to tell Quinn everything that they now know, all about the place they're raiding and what to expect, again he holds off on mentioning who is responsible until the end, knowing this man has good reason to hate Jared too, when he finally tells him it's Jared he doesn't get the reaction he expects, he thought he would react as Eliot had, get angry and be ready to kill, _seething_ with rage, but Quinn's face does the opposite, all emotion and animation falls away, leaving a completely blank mask, a look that is somehow even scarier than Eliot's unbridled fury.

By now Eliot has managed to get enough control over himself he can talk, just, but his eyes are still gold and his teeth are longer than normal, he looks into Quinn's eyes and they share a silent understanding, nodding once to each other at the same time, they each turn to their newfound families.

Quinn goes to Ruby and takes her face in both his hands, kissing her passionately, before pulling back to rest his forehead against hers, saying "I want you and Jane to go with your dad and Sarah, down into the panic room Jayda had built as part of the basement, Parker says it's pretty much entry proof, the best she's ever seen, and that's saying a lot, and I want you guys to stay there until me or Eliot calls you, no texts, calls only ok? To make sure my girls are safe, will you do that for me?"

"Yes, you are coming back...?" She asks, needing to be sure.

"Of course I'm coming back, and if this plays out the way I expect, well,... Eliot might well see to it you won't need that divorce" he confesses, letting her know who did all this without tipping Jane off. Ruby throws her arms around his neck and holds on tight, letting him know she loves him without having to say a single word.

Eliot goes to Sarah and picks her up before coming to Parker and Diwali, he looks at Parker and just nods, she nods back and he knows he couldn't talk her out of coming with them if his life depended on it, next he turns to Diwali, lowering his eyes and tilting his head to one side, using the wolf way to show submission to the elder, Diwali puts his hand on Eliot's shoulder and squeezes gently, letting him know he is forgiven for growling at him earlier.

Eliot clears his throat in an attempt to make his words more understandable "Diwali, I need you to take Sarah, Jane and Ruby into the panic room downstairs, and stay with them while we go and do this, as soon as we have Jayda, and we've done what we need to, to make sure all of us are safe from now on, either me or Quinn or Parker will call, no texts, call, don't come out until you've spoken to us, no matter what, you've gotta keep them safe for me..." Eliot stops talking, he's shaking in a way he hasn't since he was a teenager, when his dad was advancing on him with his belt in hand, and he realises, he's scared, he's scared he's gonna lose everything that means something to him.

He walks a few steps away with Sarah, who can feel him shaking so badly and tells her "bug, you gotta listen to me, we're goin' to go get Jayda, but it's gonna be dangerous, and although I don't want anythin' to happen to any of us, I can't promise it won't, not without lying to you, so I need you to promise, that no matter what, you'll be good for Ruby, and your grandfather, and that you'll always remember how much me and Jayda love our little snugabug, alright? No matter what happens, no matter where we are, we always have and always will love you, you'll remember?"

"Yes daddy, I'll be good for Ruby and grandfather, and I'll always know you and Jayda love me no matter what, because I'm your little bug,.... but I don't want you to go...." Sarah promises before switching to a frightened whisper at the end.

"If it was anyone but Jayda, bug, I wouldn't go, I don't want to have to, but I DO have to, so try to be brave, but remember, it's ok to cry if you're sad, I love you Sarah" he tells her, before taking her back to Diwali and handing her to him, she doesn't want to let go, but Eliot slowly peels her fingers from around bunches of his shirt, then takes off the leather thong with the key to the house on it "look after this for me will you bug? I don't wanna risk losin' it" he tells her as he wraps her fingers around the key and then wraps the leather around her hand, before kissing her on the forehead.

"Yes daddy" she says with tears rolling down her face, breaking his heart at doing this to her.

"C'mon dad, Sarah, time to go downstairs, we'll see you all soon" Ruby says, her own eyes filled with tears.

Once the basement doors are locked behind Jayda's family, the three get ready to leave.

Then Eliot turns to the other two and asks "how long will it take you guys to drive to the house?"

"About ten to fifteen minutes, why?" Quinn answers.

"I can be there quicker than that, if I go on... paws" he replies, looking from Parker to Quinn and back again "I could be a diversion out back, so you guys can go straight in through the front" he proposes.

Quinn and Parker look at each other "no" they say at the exact same time, before Parker carries on "these guys pack silver ammo, I'm not dealing with your silver-shot ass again, and the point is for all of us to get out in one piece, if you wanna go in as a wolf that's up to you, but not without us there"

"I don't think I've got much choice on whether I get to be a man or wolf, I'm that angry the minute I smell his or her scent I'll Change, wanted or not, so better to choose to start out that way, will you bring my jeans and some blankets, in case we need them for Jayda?" Eliot asks.

"Sure, you wanna Change now? Oh hey what about earbuds? I'm assuming you can't use one as a wolf?" Quinn realises.

"Yeah I'm gonna Change and ride in the bed of the truck, and no I can't use one as a wolf, but mine is in my jeans pocket, so once I've Changed back, no problem, now anymore questions before I Change?" Eliot finishes.

"Just one thing, we kill Jared together, you for what he's done to Jayda and Sarah, me for what he's done to Ruby, Jane and Jayda and Sarah, deal?" Quinn insists.

"He's _mine_ Quinn" Eliot answers.

"No, _together_ , if nothing else, so you don't carry the weight of it alone, we're gonna be brothers-in-law, lets bond over this ok?" Quinn demands.

" _Brothers-in-law_? Are you telling me you proposed to Ruby? Already?" Eliot asks, mouth agape.

"Yeah, we don't all take decades to know we love someone, y'know, so do we have a deal?" Quinn replies, having a little dig at Eliot to lighten the mood slightly.

"Yeah you got a deal, but if you get knocked out, like you do so easily, I'm not waitin' for you to wake up" Eliot answers having a small dig back at his friend.

"Same here" Quinn answers grinning as Eliot takes off his shirt, quickly followed by his wife beater and then his boots, he folds his shirts and puts them over the back of the sofa and puts his boots by the door, making Quinn and Parker smirk at each other about how domestic he was being, he points to the stack of fuzzy blankets beside the fireplace, and tells Parker that they are the ones she wants, he quickly says very quietly to Quinn "after, in a small wooden box in the bedroom, bring it to me, ASAP, please", then while her back is still turned he drops his jeans, quickly folds them and hands them to Quinn, who can't resist just a little peek at Eliot naked, after all he'd had a small crush on him since the first time Eliot handed him his ass in that airplane hanger, and now that crush wouldn't be going anywhere soon, no matter how much he loves Ruby.

Parker realises that Eliot is Changing, by the sounds she can hear, so after picking up the blankets she doesn't turn around, having learned her lesson after watching last time, until she hears Eliot-wolf huff and Quinn says "he's done now" then Quinn opens the door and Eliot trots out, jumping up into the truck, OVER the tailgate without any problem, while Quinn and Parker come out and make sure the door locks behind them, then climb into the truck, Quinn opens the drivers window and leans out, shouting back to Eliot "ok, we're gonna start moving, stay low, ok?" And getting a bark in return.

Quickly they're out of the driveway and under the trees, speeding along the road to the highway.

**************************************************

As they pull off the main road, into the half mile long drive, leading to the house, Quinn hears Eliot stand up in the bed of the truck, then in the rear view mirror, sees him climb up onto his hind legs, with his front paws on the roof of the cab. He has no idea what Eliot's trying to do, but he's worried he might get hurt, riding in the truck like that, so he slows down, getting a growl loud enough that he can hear it with the windows closed, Quinn puts his foot back down, speeding up as they approach the last turn, before the trees end and it's a straight view to the house.

As they approach the corner Parker suddenly says "STOP!" Making him slow down, but not slam on the brakes, as he doesn't want Eliot to get hurt.

"What is it?" He asks once he's brought them to a stop.

Parker just opens her mouth to answer, when there's a sudden movement beside Quinn, followed by what can only be described as a ' _woof_ ', when Quinn turns his head he's face to face with Eliot, who even as a wolf seems to be managing to glower at him, he rolls down the window and says "it's not my fault, she told me to stop" before turning back to Parker for her explanation.

"I've been looking at the floor plan the guy left for us, and there's another way in, there's an external cellar door! I can sneak in through there and then...." Parker stops dead, as they all hear something between a howl and a scream, coming from the house, Eliot looks from one of them to the other, waits a moment and then tips his head back, and really _HOWLS_ in a way they've never heard before.

ELIOT/JAYDA/QUINN/PARKER

After that he bolts towards the house, Quinn hitting the gas and following him at a matching speed, as soon as they've skidded to a halt and the handbrake is on they're both out of the truck, following Eliot's path inside.

There are no men in the hallway that they've been told to head down, in order to get to the basement door, they were expecting someone to be about, but it seems they came at shift-change or lunchtime or something, they find Eliot at a door whimpering quietly and scratching at the wood, Quinn opens the door, pointing his gun down the staircase, but there is no one there, he looks down at Eliot, and starts to slowly walk down the stairs, being as quiet as he can, the further down they get the more they can hear, the sound of what appears to be a whip of some sort cutting the air and then hitting a solid part of the body, repeatedly and in quick succession, someone panting quickly, as if hyperventilating, and whining continuously as they do, they can hear someone grunting, most likely the person carrying out the abuse, and someone giving some kind of running commentary, too quiet for Quinn and Parker to be able to hear, until they hear him scream "WAKE UP YOU LAZY FUCKING BITCH!"

At this Eliot jumps up and puts his front paws on the door, obviously wanting Quinn to open it, when he doesn't straight away, Eliot looks at him and growls, an obvious threat implied, and Quinn whispers to him, "don't start with me, I'm pissed off too" before putting his shoulder against the door and slowly opening it.

Once the door is open, Eliot drops to all four feet and sneaks around behind Jared, getting ready to bring him down, Quinn moves to the side, while Parker goes around the back of some of the weird furniture, getting into place to free Jayda. Because of this positioning Parker is the first to see Jayda properly, the rough, raw, scabbed skin from from being scrubbed with a floor brush and beaten with a belt, the diamonds carved over her whole body from the neck down, the blood over the back of her thighs, obvious it's come from between her legs, the hair that's been hacked short, and all the black and purple bruises covering her body, her left wrist, the left side of her face from jaw to eye, her left hip, the whole right hand side of her abdomen, and a boot print in the middle of her back, between her shoulder blades, and those were just her visible injuries, the extent of the damage makes Parker gasp, tears springing to her eyes, and she wants nothing more than to be in on killing Jared with the men.

Parker looks over to Quinn, who nods at her before turning his head towards Eliot, checking he's in place, the man, who's holding a cane in his hand, has stopped whipping Jayda at the sound of Jared screaming at her, and tells him "she's unconscious, shouting won't do any good, I think whatever has caused that bruise has seriously damaged her, if you want her to live any longer then she needs a hospital, right _now_ "

"No hospital! You look after her! Make sure she survives until her punishment tomorrow, after that I don't care, see how much she loves the mutt when she's got no genitals left" Jared replies, then just as the man with the cane opens his mouth, presumably to argue, the whole room is filled with an echoing, deep, _growl_. Making Jared spin in place to find Eliot-wolf stood behind him, teeth bared, ready to rip his throat out.

As this happens on one side of the room, Parker darts forwards and puts her taser to the second man's neck saying "tell me why I shouldn't use this" In a deadly hiss.

He gulps loudly, puts both hands in the air, after dropping the cane, and answers "well it's about time y'all got here, I've been leaving notes and messages for you all for days, she needs a hospital, NOW, I don't know what happened, but from the bruising I expect internal bleeding, and it's stopping her from breathing, you need to get that manacle off her broken wrist first though, I'm Eric, I've been trying to look after her as much as I could" he explains, Parker lowering her taser as he continues on and she recognises the details from the note Diwali received.

She turns to Quinn, to find him standing over Jared with his gun pointing at his head, Jared who is laid flat on the floor, with Eliot over him, jaws wrapped around his throat, Quinn looks up at her and nods, straight away Parker is on her knees, lockpicks out, carefully turning Jayda's wrist, so that she can get at the lock on the manacle, once she's got it into a position to work on it she has it open in seconds, but then she has to remove it from her wrist, which is obviously broken, badly swollen and bruised, she doesn't want to cause anymore damage, but she knows time is of the essence right now and She's not going to feel it anyway, so she takes hold of her forearm with one hand, and the metal of the manacle with the other, and quickly pulls the metal from her swollen skin, she moans low in her throat at the pain, but she doesn't wake up.

As Parker is doing all this Jared has been talking at Eliot, goading him and threatening both him and Jayda with further issues and abuses, this is how he's ended up knocked onto the floor with Eliot's teeth around his throat, still shouting "you wouldn't dare mutt! You think you've got your daddy's luck and can get away with murder here?, where everyone knows what you are? Hell, Ruby herself would happily turn you in, for anything I said you did, if she thought it'd make me come back! The stupid whore will do anything I tell her! She'd make sure you suffered if you do anything to me!"

Hearing this Quinn has to interrupt "I think you're wrong there, Jared, Ruby won't do fuck all for you, she wouldn't let someone else piss on you if you were on fire! And after everything you've done, do you really think we came here with any intention other than to see you dead? As a plus It'll save Ruby from having to get a divorce, so we can get married all the sooner you see" he tells him grinning broadly, before speaking to Eliot "if you got anything to say, I suggest Changing now and saying it, I'm ready to see this motherfucker dead, and I'm pretty sure you are too"

Eliot rolls his eyes upwards towards Quinn, before letting go of Jared and taking a few steps back, towards the bag Parker had carried in, then he concentrates, thinking about Jayda and how obviously she needed medical help, and Changes, taking only 19 seconds from start to finish, pulling his jeans out of the bag and yanking them on, before coming to stand over Jared with Quinn.

"Any last words?" Eliot rasps out, eyes constantly flicking over to Jayda, before coming back to Jared.

"Just two things I want you to know, one, she's got a _great_ ass to fuck, i'd recommend it, since I'm pretty sure you haven't had it before, although that might not be a possibility now... , secondly, just so you know, because I'm sure she wouldn't tell you until she has to,.... she lost the baby this morning" he says with a proud grin.

Without warning Eliot shoots forward, grabs Jared's head and twists, filling the silent room with the loud crack of his neck not just breaking, but becoming completely detached from his skull, killing him instantly.

"Eliot! What the hell? I was suppo..." Quinn starts, understanding why Eliot had needed it done, but not why he hadn't let Quinn do it to save himself the guilt.

"She was told she couldn't have any more children, what he said is true, so he's robbed her of somethin' she might never recover from" Eliot tells him in a quiet growl, cutting him off before adding "and because he killed **_my_** child"

Quinn has no answer to that, so he leads Eliot over to Jayda, where she's laid on the floor, her head in Parker's lap, struggling to breathe.

"Do you have a car or truck?" Eric asks, looking from one face to another.

When the others don't answer Quinn says "yes why?"

"Because we really have to get her to the hospital straight away, if you guys take her I'll deal with the mess here, it's the least I can do, and I'll come to the hospital as soon as I'm done" he explains.

This time it's Parker who speaks first, "what are you going to do?"

"Just about all the guys had already been sent ahead to the next location, all the others are in town, they don't like being here when he is ' _punishing_ ' her, so since the house is empty, I'm gonna burn it to the ground, with Jared's body still inside, I'll make it look like an electrical fire, it's easy enough and that way it won't come back on you guys" Eric tells them.

"Why?" Eliot rasps out, still having trouble with words because of his anger.

"Because you and she didn't deserve this, I signed up for a straight kidnapping, not torturing someone in these ways, let alone the reasons why, so I did as much as I could to look after her, it wasn't enough, but if i'd done anymore he'd have realised and then she wouldn't have had anyone looking out for her, when I join you all at the hospital I'll tell you everything that happened, and if you want me dead after that,... I won't fight, she promised me if I helped her none of you would want me hurt, this was after I left the first note, which Jared intercepted, but I promised i'd keep trying, so she promised I wouldn't be hurt, but I'll understand if you don't take my word for it, just _please_ get her to the hospital." Eric tells him.

"Lets get her out of here" Eliot says, kneeling down next to Jayda and brushing the hair gently out of her face, feeling how cold her skin is he looks up to Quinn "can you get a couple of the blankets please?" He asks, taking hold of Jayda's right hand and stroking the back with his other, trying to let her know he was there and she was finally safe, that they were Pack and he'd help her heal.

Quinn comes back with two blankets, which he hands to Eliot, before moving around to the other side of Jayda and lifting her gently, so that Eliot can put one of the blankets under her, once it's in place they wrap it around her snugly, before lifting her upper body again, this time to wrap the second one around her shoulders, once she's wrapped up, they both get to their feet, lifting her until they're both up, and Eliot can take her on his own.

They're quickly up the stairs and into Jayda's truck, Parker giving her number to Eric, so he can find them when he's done with the house, then they're moving, heading towards where Diwali had told Eliot the hospital is now, Quinn driving very fast, but being very careful, making sure he doesn't jolt Eliot and Jayda in the backseat. Once they're on the highway Quinn says to Parker "take the wheel for a moment will you?" She raises her eyebrows but does as he asks, watching the road as he takes off his shirt, leaving him in just a tshirt, so that he can hand his shirt back to Eliot saying "put this on, or they're gonna wonder what the story is even more than they already will" before taking the wheel again.

Eliot has been whispering to Jayda the whole time that they've been driving, really quiet so the others can't hear him, but knowing she can, suddenly he looks up and says "Parker! Phone Diwali, tell him what's happenin' and that he's gonna be needed at the hospital, NOW!" She looks at him wide eyed, but is already pulling her phone free of her jeans, knowing that every second could be important, as she dials and relays the message Eliot returns to talking quietly to Jayda, giving her reassurances and telling her he loves her, that he needs her to be ok, and to please not leave him.

Both Quinn and Parker can hear the desperate note that has crept into Eliot's voice as he talks, the longer he speaks for the more pronounced it becomes, and it is worrying them, because neither of them have ever heard him so close to falling apart, the closest being when he begged Parker not to ask him what the thing he did for Moreau was, the worst thing he'd ever done, and even that was nowhere close to this.

As they pull up outside the hospital, Parker shoots out of the truck and inside, _screaming_ for help, while Quinn opens the door so Eliot can get out, still carrying Jayda, who's been on his lap for the whole journey.

By the time they're out of the truck a gurney has been brought out and a doctor and a nurse are there asking questions, but Eliot is in no condition to speak, so Parker takes over, telling them that the patient is called Jayda Spencer, that this is her husband and his brother and that she is her cousin, that they didn't know details of what had happened to her, because she'd been missing for a week, meaning they'll all be given access as family and Eliot will be considered her next of kin.

When they try to get Eliot to put her down on the gurney, he growls at them, so Quinn tries to take her from him, Eliot whips his head around and tries to bite Quinn on the neck, still growling, Quinn only just being fast enough to avoid losing a chunk of flesh, he looks up at Parker and shrugs not knowing what to do.

Parker is just about to speak when Diwali comes running from the car park, coming up behind Eliot and pressing his hand against his back firmly he says "Eliot you need to let go now, they can't help her unless you let them, and every second you keep hold of her could make all the difference, so let go"

Eliot shakes his head like a man just waking up and places Jayda gently down on the gurney, the moment his hands are away from her they whisk her away from him, making him whine quietly in his throat at being separated from her, Diwali knows he needs to go with her so he hands something to Quinn and says "if he gets really bad again just hold this against him, the nearer the heart the better, I have to go, what name did you give them?" He asks them all.

"Jayda Spencer" Parker answers "so they'd let us know what's happening" Diwali nods and then rushes into the small A+E and into the staff only area.

Parker and Quinn look at each other, not really sure how to deal with the situation now, Eliot was still whining very quietly, and just staring at the floor, his hair was a tangled mess, one thigh of his jeans was soaked in blood and he had Quinn's shirt buttoned wrong, he was a mess.

"C'mon, lets get inside, you can call Sarah and I'll call Ruby, then we'll sort you out, drink awful coffee and wait for either Eric to arrive or word from Diwali, ok?" Quinn suggests, when he gets no real reply from Eliot he just leads him inside, and he follows meekly, no sign of the anger he showed towards his friend only moments ago in evidence.

Once they're inside and have found somewhere out of the way to sit, Parker rebuttons Eliot's shirt and rolls up the sleeves, there's nothing she can do about the state of his jeans or his lack of boots though, once she's done with his shirt she sits next to him, combing her fingers through his hair gently, working out the knots and making it look more like normal.

While Parker is dealing with Eliot, Quinn calls Hardison, he has to let it ring out a couple of times, but eventually Hardison answers "lo?"

"Hardison! We've got her! But she's in a really bad way, we need you to set up health insurance for Jayda Spencer, husband Eliot Spencer, with him as next of kin, followed by her father, then text me all the details we'll need for the forms, can you do that for us?" Quinn rushes out.

"Sure man, it's already set up, I'll text and email you the details, how bad is it man?" Hardison asks.

"She's really bad, her whole body is covered in cuts, and I really mean covered, it looks like she's been whipped or something, she's covered in black bruises, and one of them seems to be putting her life in danger, when we came in they were caning the soles of her feet and she was unconscious, barely breathing, Jared boasted about raping her before Eliot killed him, and.... she's having a miscarriage, it's really fucked Eliot up, he's pretty much catatonic right now, has been since they took her away from him when we arrived." Quinn tells him, his worry for both Eliot and Jayda bleeding into his voice, making it crack as he tells Alec about their loss.

"Oh, man, I need to get there, can you or Parker come get me?" Hardison asks, worry for his best friend obvious.

"I'll tell Parker, I can't see her not coming for you" Quinn assures him, before saying goodbye and hanging up, as soon as he's hung up he receives a text with all the information they need for Jayda's insurance forms.

Quinn comes back to Eliot and Parker, Eliot's still staring into the distance, not taking any notice of anything going on around them, something he would never usually allow to happen because it puts the others at risk, it's unnerving to see him so disconnected from what's around him. Quinn tells Parker that Hardison wants picking up so he can wait for word with them, and she bites her lip looking worriedly at Eliot before turning back to Quinn.

"I don't want to leave him, I know you'll be here and I won't be long.... but it just doesn't feel right leaving him here, could you go?" She says, obviously torn between the two men who mean the most to her.

"I'm worried about leaving him with just you, if he flips out again would you be able to hold him back?" He asks, bringing up another potential issue.

"Well whatever it was Diwali used before seemed to calm him down, maybe I could use that, what was it anyway?" Parker enquires, just realising that she hadn't seen what Diwali had handed Quinn.

"Oh! I don't know...." Quinn says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the item Diwali had handed him, which Parker immediately recognises.

"The wolf-soul amulet? When they told us about it when we arrived they didn't say it had magical powers!" She tells him reaching out to take it "how does it work?" She asks, having not heard what Diwali had told Quinn because she was busy talking to the doctor.

"Diwali just said to hold it against him, as close to the heart as possible, I guess it just knows what to do on it's own" Quinn tells her, still not liking leaving her alone with Eliot when he's this unstable, but knowing that if Eliot breaks, it's better a woman is there to deal with it than Quinn himself, even though he knows how sexist that thought is, he just isn't good at dealing with other guys crying.

"Ok I'll go for him" he tells her, hoping this doesn't turn out to be a massive mistake.

But before he has a chance to leave Parker's phone rings, waiting in case it's Hardison, Quinn sits back down.

"Hello?" Parker answers, frowning.

"Oh! Eric! Is everything all right?.... Really?..... Yes we're at the hospital, so far as we know she's gonna be ok, we haven't heard anything yet,...... are you sure you wanna do that?...... then yeah, we're in A+E, I think it would be a good idea for us to know what happened, could you do something for me on your way here?.... yeah I need you to pick up our other partner, do you know where Diwali's house is?..... he did? Ok, well if you just go there, you're picking up a tall black man called Hardison, I'll call him and make sure he's ready for you, see you soon" Parker says, obviously listening each time she goes silent.

"What's the news, Parker?" Quinn asks.

She looks over to him a little wide eyed and there's a pause before she answers "the house is burning like a New Years bonfire, he says he doubts there's gonna be much left except Jared's bones, he staged the body anyway, to make it look like he fell down the stairs, he says there's no way anyone could point at it and say arson, mainly because it barely was, he asked how she is, he seems really concerned, so he's gonna come here and tell us exactly what happened to her as best as he knows, he says he didn't see all of it, but the men involved in the parts he wasn't there for couldn't keep their mouths shut, so he has a good idea, he says it's bad, really bad..." she trails off, her eyes filling with tears, she likes Jayda, she'd understood her like no one else ever had straight away, and she made Eliot happy, made him smile in a way he never had before, she wanted her new friend to be alright!

"Hey, hey, Parker it's going to be alright, Jayda is just as tough as Eliot, and she loves him, she'll fight anything to come back to him, I'm sure of it, come here" Quinn tells her, having her come sit next to him so he could cuddle her while she cries.

While he holds her, waiting for Hardison to arrive and come take over, he watches Eliot, who seems to still be not with it, staring into the distance, deep breathing, like he's in a trance, and then Quinn remembers the conversation from last night, when Parker had asked if he was ok when he was shivering, and he'd said he was feeling what Jayda was feeling, was that what he was doing now? concentrating on what she's feeling so he knows she's still alive?

"Eliot? Can you hear me?" Quinn asks quietly.

"Yeah, what is it?" Eliot answers, without focusing his eyes or turning his head, and sounding a little... dreamy.

"Are you ok?" He asks him, feeling a little better now Eliot is at least speaking.

"Not really, would you be if it was Ruby?" Eliot replies, as always being brutally honest.

"No I wouldn't be, do you need anything?" Quinn asks, still concerned for his friend.

"Just some coffee, but not out of a damn vendin' machine!" He answers, sounding the most like himself since he Changed that morning.

"You got it" Quinn says, turning back to Parker who is settled against his shoulder sniffling "hey Parker have you texted Alec yet?"

"Oh! Damn I forgot!" She answers, pulling back from him and searching her pockets for her phone.

"Wait! On the end of your text can you ask Alec to get us all some coffee from the shop in town? I think Eliot needs it" he tells her.

"Oh sure! I can do that!" She says, fingers flying over the screen of her phone, sending the text.

"Thanks Parker, I'm gonna go get the insurance forms and fill them out before getting Eliot to sign them, is there anything you need?" He asks.

"No I'm fine, I'll just stay here with Eliot" she tells him smiling up at him where he's stood up over her.

Quinn goes to the reception desk, telling them who he is supposed to be and that he needs a set of insurance forms to fill out for Jayda Spencer, he quickly has the forms he needs and goes back to the little nook they're sitting in to fill them out. He's about halfway through when a nurse calls out, looking for the family of Jayda Spencer, he's instantly on his feet along with Eliot and Parker, the nurse comes to them and asks them to sit back down, as they do the colour drains out of Parker's face, making it clear she's expecting the worst.

"Doctor Red Cloud sent me out, he wants you all to know that Jayda is hanging in there but she's gonna need surgery, but first she needs a blood transfusion, he said... Eliot?, is a match for her? As we don't have much on hand supply and she has a match right here, we were wondering if you'd agree to a direct transfer transfusion? It'll only take a few minutes to double check the match and then we can proceed, if that's ok?" The nurse informs them.

"Can I see her? While you're doin' the transfusion?" Eliot asks, surprising Quinn as he hadn't realised Eliot had come back to them enough to listen properly to the nurse.

"Yes you'll be right next to her, you can even hold her hand, but you mustn't be worried by what they're doing, they're saving her life, trying to stop the internal bleeding, it might look scary but it's to help her, alright?" The nurse answers him.

"Alright" Eliot answers, standing up, as he does Quinn stands with him, gripping onto his hand and saying into his ear "we'll be right here, anything you need, we'll be waiting, I hope she's ok" before squeezing his hand once and letting go, Eliot looks down at Parker, he tries to smile for her but it comes out as a grimace, she smiles back softly anyway, hoping the next time she sees him he'll be able to smile for real, before the nurse leads him off into the resuscitation area.


	20. Telling the story....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda undergoes care for the harm done to her with Eliot watching over her, Eric tells the story of her captivity to Parker, Hardison and Quinn, there is a surprise in the hospital, and the children take the news of Jared's death better than expected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED OR BEEN SPOKEN OF SO FAR
> 
> so you guys left me five comments in 24 hours, so how could I not update again after a response like that?
> 
> This is a retelling of the basics of the story so far in part and a view of the care Jayda's receiving, be aware there are two things that happen in this chapter that are important to later plot, so don't skip it!
> 
> Love to you all, darlin's

ELIOT/JAYDA

As Eliot is lead into the room Jayda is being treated in he pauses, eyes flicking over what is going on around her, there is a man, who he believes is a surgeon, doing something laparoscopically to Jayda, the metal tubes he's working through all sited on her right hand side, where that awful black bruise had been. Her chest and extremities are wrapped in heating blankets, making him think she has some kind of hypothermia, there are X-rays of her wrist, both feet, her ankle and her ribs on the light boxes. Her feet and lower legs have both already been put in plaster, and there is a woman doing something with her left wrist, and this is after some of her problems have been dealt with, but she's still this messed up, it makes him feel physically sick.

"Mr Spencer? It looks worse than it is, I promise" the nurse says, not realising just how much he understands about her injuries.

"Come and sit here" she says, indicating a chair next to Jayda, near her shoulder.

"Can I touch her?" He asks raspily "just her face and stroke her hair, let her know I'm here?"

"I'm sorry, the anaesthesiologist needs to work around her head, although I'm sure you'd be careful, we can't risk you knocking anything out of place, until the doctor is done with her wrist and you can hold her hand, you can stroke her shoulder, if that would help." She tells him, sounding truly sorry.

"Ok, thank you" he tells her and takes the seat, touching his fingers to her shoulder, amplifying their Bond with his touch, within a minute his blood sample is away getting cross-checked against Jayda's, ready for the transfusion.

Eliot looks to the nurse and asks "what is it that they're doin' to her" indicating the surgeon with his head.

"They're having to remove her gall bladder, whatever caused the bruise ruptured it, luckily it didn't leak any bile into her abdominal cavity, just blood, so since they can't fix it they're removing it, the body doesn't really need it anymore now anyway, it's on the verge of being a vestigial organ, so it shouldn't cause her any problems in the future" the nurse explains, before going back to her normal tasks.

After a few minutes of just stroking her shoulder, letting her know he was with her in the only way he could, Diwali comes and crouches next to him, asking "Eliot, how much of what happened to her do you know?"

Eliot closes his eyes for a moment, gathering himself, and then looks down at the Shaman, "she was bein' caned on the soles of the feet when we found her, her wrist had been forced into an old style manacle handcuff that was too small, she'd obviously been cut all over, as well as other things I suspect but don't know for sure, and Jared boasted about... about rapin' her, sodomisin' her, before he died,.... and she's... havin' a miscarriage" he finishes quietly.

Diwali takes it all in, his eyes lowered, and for the first time in his life he wishes someone had suffered more before their death, then he looks up into Eliot's eyes "are you alright?" He says, asking more than just the one question with his look.

"I will be when she is" Eliot replies rumblingly, telling Diwali that right now the only thing keeping him from turning feral was that Jayda was still alive.

"Well we haven't checked her yet for damage caused sexually, the need for the laparoscopy was too urgent, but we've treated what we could, such as the broken bones, while the surgeon is working, so long as he can stop the bleeding her life shouldn't be in danger any longer, after she's had the transfusion from you she should start to heal very quickly, and then we'll sort out the problems we haven't dealt with yet. Are you ready for us to start the transfusion?" Diwali explains.

"Yeah, whenever you want me" Eliot tells him as the doctor looking at Jayda's wrist moves away from the bed.

"Her wrist is very badly broken, but we can't deal with it right now because of her treatment for her other injuries, so I've used a special kind of splint to immobilise the bones, you can hold her hand, but please be gentle, and don't try to move her hand if you can help it, it could make the damage much worse" she says to Eliot and Diwali.

Diwali takes the doctor to one side and has a very quiet conversation with her, keeping his voice low, but Eliot wasn't even trying to listen, he gently takes her hand, lifting it as if it's made from the most delicate, fragile glass, all his focus is on the wavering thread of his Bond to Jayda, trying to send as much love and strength to her as he can, letting her feel his sense of loss, and his worry for her, just hoping she understands and keeps fighting.

Then the nurse gets his attention again, asking him to hold out his arm so that they can set up the transfusion, once all the tubes are in place and his blood is flowing into the machine it has to pass through before flowing into Jayda, Eliot goes back to ignoring his surroundings, paying attention only to Jayda and their Bond. After a time Eliot begins to feel an answering love and sense of loss coming back at him, the same but different somehow to his own, and he knows, this is Jayda telling him she loves him too.

As his blood finally reaches Jayda, the hand he has hold of spasms and grips him exceptionally tightly, before letting go and going limp again, the reaction worries Eliot but none of the doctors seem to be concerned, so he just continues to sit and wait.

PARKER/QUINN/HARDISON

After watching Eliot be led away by the nurse Quinn and Parker look at each other, Quinn with worry in his eyes and Parker with tears in hers again, Quinn hates seeing Parker so upset so he puts his arm out, inviting her to come for a hug with him until Hardison arrives.

About ten minutes later Quinn sees Hardison come rushing through the doors, looking wildly around for them, followed by Eric who seems much calmer, but still obviously concerned, they spot Quinn at the same time, heading towards them, Hardison giving Quinn a little jealous scowl when he sees that he has his arm around Parker, until he sees how upset she is.

When Parker looks up and sees Hardison she scoots out from under Quinn's arm and stands up, wraps her arms around Hardison's waist, and hides her face in his neck as she murmurs to him. Eric watches all this and then turns to Quinn "where's Eliot? I really only want to have to tell this once"

"Eliot's donating blood to Jayda, a direct transfusion, he won't be back anytime soon, just tell us, we can tell him when he's ready" Quinn tells him, indicating for him to take a seat, as he does Parker and Hardison sit too, although they're still hugging each other as they listen.

"God, where do I start?... ok, I signed up for a two to four week job, simple kidnapping for ransom, I do these jobs and make a point of being the one caring for the victim, making sure they're not abused, and that they get what they need to survive, water, food, bathroom, blankets. I looked after Sarah, made sure she was safe and well looked after, then they swapped her for Jayda, I figured it was better to have an adult being held than a kid, but then things changed, there was no talk of a ransom any more. Then the ' _punishments_ ' began, it was obvious that Jared had personal issues with Jayda, that he hated her, the first night he had me whip her back with a wide leather belt, until she was cut, bruised and welted from her neck to her knees, he said he was giving her a taste of the _'mutt's_ ' medicine, that Eliot's father had done it to him to try to stop him being a _filthy animal_ , at that point I didn't know what he meant, now I do. The next day he had me do another one of the 'mutt's' punishments, he had me scrub every inch of her skin with a hand floor brush, the kind with the really hard, sharp bristles? Then he had this... well she called it ' _The Implement_ ', it was like a huge bottle brush or a toilet brush, but made with the same bristles as the floor brush, he... used it on her internally, until she told him she was pregnant, she only told him because he threatened to give her a douche of cleaning fluid..." Eric stops as Parker shoots out of Alec's arms and into the ladies room, followed by the sound of retching before the door swung closed all the way.

"Should I wait or continue?" Eric asks, concern in his eyes.

"No, not yet, how about you answer me a question?" Quinn answers, his blank hitters mask firmly in place.

"Anything you want to know" Eric says, hoping it's something he can answer.

"How could you both _do_ these things, and let _him_ do these worse things and not get her out? How could you just _watch_?" Quinn demands.

"I didn't just watch, it was the next morning I left a note, the same as the one you finally got, at her sisters house, when we'd been briefed we'd been told about the family, but not that the sister had a husband, for obvious reasons. He was the one who found the note, I started leaving them at her father's house, but I think he was intercepting those too until the one you finally received. I would have got her out, but there was only one key to the manacle, and he had it, I don't know _how_ to pick a lock, it's not something you need to know as basic hired muscle. So I just did the best I could to care for her, gave her extra water, glucose pills, because I couldn't get food in to her, a towel when he'd have her hosed down, and tell me to leave her soaking wet, with only a wet stone floor to sit on, and the temperature falling to near, and then below, freezing, I fought with him to give her the basics she needed to survive last night when it snowed, blankets, hot food, water, and me watching over her to protect her from the other men, so I didn't just watch and let him do it, I tried to help her, and I _hated_ every second she was there." Eric explains, letting them know that he had in fact most likely saved Jayda's life the night before.

As he and Quinn stare each other down, the tension growing thick between them, Parker returns, looking pale and clammy, and folds herself back into Hardison's embrace.

"Are you alright?" Eric asks her, concerned, "you don't gotta listen to this if it's too much" he tells her.

"She's my friend, I can't be there for her if I don't know what happened to her, if she can survive it happening to her, I can survive hearing it all." Parker tells him with steel in her voice, putting the lie to how delicate she appears.

"Go on" Quinn tells him, still not sure whether he intends to kill the man.

"Right, after she'd been scrubbed, he had me throw buckets of hot, salty, water over her, just to torment her more. That's when he told her Eliot was dead, that the bullet he'd taken had killed him, I didn't know whether it was true, so I couldn't tell her otherwise, she broke down then, it was the first time she cried since he started torturing her, it was like she just gave up, I think the only reason she didn't goad him into killing her was her baby. That night he came back from somewhere with cuts and punctures all around his neck, and he was **_livid_** , he told all the men to stay upstairs, even me, he was down there alone with her for half an hour, maybe forty five minutes, before coming upstairs. He was talking to some of the men, the ones who'd been wanting to 'have a go at her', he was telling them what he wanted them to do to her, it was _sick_." Eric pauses here to go get a bottle of water from the vending machine, needing the drink to wet his dry throat, the other three say nothing in his absence, just look at each other in shock and horror.

Eric then continues, his voice sounding a little rougher than before "Then he called me downstairs, she'd thrown up on the floor, and he wanted me to clean up, the first thing I noticed when I came down was that he'd cut her beautiful hair off, the second was that she was kneeling in a steadily expanding pool of blood, he had me punch her in the face, to punish her for the mess she had made by throwing up, the bruise on her face was caused by me. Then he had me hose the floor clean and then her too. The way she washed herself, and from where she was bleeding from told me what he'd done, he'd _raped_ her, _sodomised_ her, I wanted to kill him on the spot for it, but i'd have never got her out past twenty plus men, the next day he had me punch her again, making the bruise worse and I realised he wouldn't stop until she was dead, so I became determined to try my best to keep her as safe as I could. While she was unconscious, he had one of the other men secure her on a horizontal St. Andrew's Cross, _after_ he'd sent me on an errand, to keep me out of the way, when I finally got back I found out what had happened. He'd sent the group of guys who wanted 'at her' to attack her, they all _raped_ her in some way or other, there was nowhere on her left untouched, she'd thrown up when one of them came down her throat, it was on the floor and in her hair, they also semi asphyxiated her until she passed out. They'd been using a spider gag on her to keep her from biting them, but one of them had taken it off while she was unconscious, and when she woke up, well... she bit his cock off and chewed it until it was completely unsaveable. They dragged the guy upstairs, but he died before they could even get him into a truck, they got rid of his body somehow, I don't know the details. When Jared got back from his errand, he had a knife wound under his ribs and needed fixing up, while our medic was doing that he was told about what had happened. He was so angry, he was in a complete rage, he went down and had me follow, once he could see her he told her he'd killed her father, that he was the one who stabbed him, and that he really suffered before his death, that he knew she'd been 'double entry gang-raped'. He said that he could either punish her or Ruby, for her and her father lying about how werewolves 'infect' others, and whether there was a 'cure', Jayda insisted that nothing happen to Ruby, that she would take the punishment, he then strongly hinted that he'd killed Sarah, just because she was _their_ child." Eric stops again, his face appearing heartbroken, before asking quietly "they are all ok, aren't they? He didn't hurt any others in the family?"

Quinn, surprised at Eric's honest concern answers "no they're all fine, Ruby, Sarah and Jane are at Jayda's house, Eliot and Diwali, Jayda's father, are with her right now, the only one dead is Jared"

"Thank god, i'd been so worried it was true, I didn't know how she would cope if it had been" he tells them, showing them all that maybe he's not such a bad guy.

After another drink Eric continues "he came up with three ' _punishments_ ', the first to be done that night, he wouldn't tell her what the other two would be. But he described the first one as a reverse variation, based on the 'death of a thousand cuts' torture, but instead of aiming to kill her through blood loss, this one would be to cause as many cuts as possible, without her bleeding to death. You guys saw the diamond shaped cuts all over her body?, well every inch of skin below her neck is covered in them, they cut through all the skin layers, but none of the fat and muscle underneath. As I was doing them, Jared was telling her about how she was going to be sent to a genetics laboratory, where they would find out how she was _infected_ with lycanthropy, and how to cure it, they'd sell the infection to the military to use on soldiers, and the cure to people who were accidentally infected, people like Sarah. By the time I was done she was begging him not to send her there, but he wasn't listening." Eric takes another drink of water, then pauses, putting his thoughts in order before continuing.

"Then he had me throw a near boiling bucket of saltwater over her, followed by two buckets of freezing saltwater, he had me hose her and the floor down, the floor was filthy, blood, vomit and semen everywhere, while the water was on her he had her rinse her hair to try to get the vomit out, he was going to leave her cold, wet and naked like that overnight, I told him I wouldn't let him, that she'd be dead by morning if he did, that night she had blankets and quilts, as much water as she wanted, and hot soup with buttered bread, I fed her myself and stayed with her overnight, incase any of the men decided to try to get revenge for the guy who died. In the morning, while she was still asleep, I was ordered to go get some sleep myself, I was told that she wouldn't be hurt until I was back, because he wanted me to perform _Bastinado_ on her, that's the whipping of the soles of the feet, but he wanted me to do it incorrectly intentionally, to shatter the bones of her feet. While I was away he had planned to have her scrubbed again with the floor brush, but by a different guy, one who cared less, which after the cutting would have left her at least partially flayed." Here Eric pauses, not wanting to say the next part, but he'd promised that he would tell them everything that had happened to her.

"But when he came to do it he found her bleeding already, she'd started to miscarry, so the scrubbing was put off until later. When he came down to prepare her and have her secured ready for the whipping, the guy he brought down with him took the _initiative_ , when he thought she wasn't moving fast enough, he kicked her in the side of the abdomen, causing whatever is putting her life in danger right now, Jared was _fuming_ at this, he was such a control freak, he fired the guy and sent for me immediately, when I arrived he had me start the 'punishment', not long after that you all arrived, and the rest you know." Eric finally concluded, looking around the small group quickly before staring at his hands where they were clasped between his knees.

"That's everything that was done to her?" Quinn asks, staring intently at Eric.

"As far as I'm able to tell, I was there nearly all the time that people were with her, except for the times I just told you about, and I found out as much as I could about what happened those times, it's the most complete accounting you could get from anyone else but Jayda herself" Eric answers, wondering if he's about to be taken out to the woods and shot.

"Thank you for telling us, you can go now" Quinn tells him, dismissively.

"Actually, if none of you mind, i'd like to stay, make sure she's ok, we formed a friendship, and i'd really like to make sure she's alright, and talk to her when she's better" Eric asks politely.

Quinn looks at Parker and Alec, both rather pale, and raises his eyebrows, asking them how they feel about Eric staying, they both shrug back, not seeming to mind if he wants to stick around.

"Alright, but I can't promise you that Eliot won't kill you when he sees you" Quinn says.

"That's fair enough, thanks for letting me stay" Eric answers, giving a grim smile.

ELIOT/JAYDA

Since the spasm that had caused Jayda's hand to clench around Eliot's she'd been completely still, the surgeon had finished his laparoscopic removal of her gall bladder and had closed his incisions, before coming round to speak to Eliot and Diwali, he told them both that she was lucky to have survived, another five or ten minutes and they wouldn't have been able to save her, he told them about the damage he'd seen inside of her and the care she would need now after this surgery, but reassured them that not having a gall bladder wouldn't really impact her life at all once she was healed, they both thanked him and allowed him to leave to deal with his other patients.

Now the female doctor who had been inspecting her wrist comes back, she explains that rather than put Jayda under anaesthetic twice, she was going to deal with her wrist while she was still under, she tells Eliot that he can hold her other hand while the work is done on this one, he nods, knowing this is unusual and he's being given special treatment, but not really realising why, they rearrange the tubes connecting him to the machine for the transfusion and he changes to her other side, wobbling a little when he first stands up, most likely due to a mix of not eating this morning and blood loss from the transfusion, once they have him settled he takes her hand, which is warmer than the other was, but now they have a heating blanket over her whole body, so he puts it down to that.

Diwali comes to him after about half an hour, and asks him "Eliot, would you like me to go and tell the others how she's doing? They've been out there waiting for news for three hours."

Eliot looks up at him in shock, he hadn't realised it had been so long since they arrived, he's been so wrapped up in trying to speak to Jayda through their Bond, that he didn't notice the time pass "yeah, thank you Diwali, I hadn't realised it had been so long, thank you" Eliot answers, hoping everyone is alright.

QUINN/PARKER/HARDISON

Quinn is the first one to notice Diwali coming towards them, he's wearing scrubs with a smear of blood on one hip, and Quinn can't stop staring at that smear, it's like his eyes are glued to it, once Diwali sits down with them Quinn's finally able to look away, as it's hidden in the folds of the scrubs.

"Jayda's gonna be ok, she's had to have her gall bladder removed after it was ruptured, most likely by a kick to the abdomen, both legs are in casts up to her knees, due to various breaks in the small bones of both feet, one ankle, and one heel, her wrist is badly broken, that's what they're working on now, but it might be a while, it seems to have just started to heal when it was rebroken, badly, so we'll have to see what the specialist says after treating her, any questions?" Diwali asks.

"Yeah" Parker says, speaking for the first time since just after she threw up "is she really having a miscarriage? Did he do that to her?"

"We haven't checked that yet, but I trust Eliot's sense of smell, so yes he's done that to them, I'm sorry Parker." Diwali answers.

"How long until we can see them?" Hardison asks, knowing that they couldn't separate them now, no matter what.

"It depends on how long to treat her wrist, and then the time it takes to wake her from the anaesthetic, however after having a direct transfusion of her Mates blood, she should be healing better and much, much faster than normal, so there really is no way to tell, how about some of you go to Jayda's, see Ruby and the girls, tell them what's happening, get Eliot some clothes and boots and Jayda some pajamas? I'll tell you where to look, and you can grab some lunch while you're out?" Diwali proposes, trying to look after this little Pack of Eliot and Jayda's, while they can't.

"I'll go, I want to see Ruby and the girls, let them know we're all ok and that Jayda will be, you said having Pack around helps the wolves to heal, does that go for Jayda too?" Quinn asks.

"Yes, in Jayda's specific case having Pack here will help, although you do all know that as you're all Eliot's Pack, you're hers now too?" Diwali tells them, surprising each of them.

"We're Eliot's Pack? But we're not werewolves! I don't understand!" Parker tells them all, Hardison wrapping his arms around her to comfort her while Diwali explains.

"Eliot's Pack is special because of who he is, but I believe you would be Pack with him anyway, Pack is the family you have around you, usually brothers, father, mother, sister, cousins, aunts and uncles, plus anyone unrelated who your family is very close to, since Eliot lives separated from other werewolves his family is made up of Jayda and Sarah, because they are blood, and each of the three of you, I'm told there were another two who originally worked with you? They're Pack too, most likely he sees me, Ruby and Jane as Pack as well, Eliot has built his Pack out of the people he loves, regardless of whether they are wolves or not, that's how you're all Pack" he tells Parker, smiling.

"Do you want to come with me Parker? You still look really pale, maybe the fresh air will make you feel a little better?" Quinn asks.

"Yeah I think I will, if it's ok with Hardison?" She says turning towards him.

"No girl, it's fine, I'll wait here and you can fetch me some tasty lunch ok? You know what I like" Hardison tells her, booping her on the nose just to see her smile.

"Should i let Sarah come back with us? She'll want to be close to both of them, to check they're ok and to help Jayda heal" Quinn asks Diwali.

"So long as Ruby says yes it's ok, but tell her to go back to the farm and wait there until she hears from me, the last thing we need is everyone waiting here, there are other things that need doing, I'll call her once you leave and explain to her, I'll get her to pack the clothes for Eliot and Jayda while she's waiting for you, are you going to tell her Jared is dead?" Diwali asks before letting them leave.

"Yeah, but not with the girls in hearing distance, I'll need Parker to distract them for two minutes while I talk to her about it, if that's ok?" Quinn replies, Parker nodding when he asks. "Right we'll get going then, Diwali do you want lunch bringing back for you? And what about you Eric?" Quinn finishes.

"Yes thank you, a chicken salad sub for me please" Diwali replies.

"Erm.... if you're sure,... a steak and cheese sub? I'll pay you when you get back..." Eric answers, looking surprised to be included.

"Don't worry about that" Quinn says, before heading for the doors, Parker in tow.

ELIOT

Eliot is broken out of his silent concentration on their Bond when the nurse comes to him, "Mr Spencer, it's time to turn off the transfusion now" she tells him "you've given her three pints, which is the limit that anyone can give in a direct transfusion, and she's stable now, in fact her vitals are brilliant, your blood seems to have healing properties, for her at least, so let me take this needle out of your arm, ok?"

"Sure, how is the work on her wrist goin'?" He asks as the nurse slowly slides the huge needle out of his arm, making him feel really nauseous, when was he ever gonna learn not to watch people put needles into him, or pull them out?

"It's surprising them, the bones don't seem to be as badly out of place as they appeared in the X-rays, the broken bones might still need some further surgery to put the pieces back together, but it's looking more promising than it did earlier" she tells him, making him feel better, not knowing if it was the Bond and being Pack that was helping or whether it was the transfusion, but he didn't care so long as she recovered.

QUINN/PARKER

Once they're about halfway to Jayda's house from the hospital, Parker writes a quick text and then turns to Quinn.

"You want to kill him don't you?" She says.

"What? Who?" Quinn asks, playing dumb, knowing exactly what and who she means.

"Eric, you want to kill him, even though he's the only reason she survived the night. You think he's a bad person, like you and Eliot used to be" she elaborates, making him feel a stab of self loathing at her last sentence.

"Yeah, I'm fighting the urge to at least hurt him, he performed those tortures on her, let the others be done to her, he could have gotten her out if he wanted to, but I promised him I wouldn't hurt him, if he gets hurt it'll be Eliot who does it, or it'll be at Jayda's request, I'm not an assassin, and I don't kill for fun, not to mention I keep my word, but if she asks me to, nothing will stop me, she deserves to put her tormentors in the ground so she can sleep at night, if that's what she needs." Quinn confesses.

"I don't think she'll want you to, Eric helped her, and has been trying to help us find her from the start, I think she'll want him to be safe, he's not a bad guy, I can tell, and if he was he wouldn't have come to the hospital so worried about her, risking his own life to be sure she's okay, that's not what a bad guy does" Parker points out to him, and he has to admit, to himself at least, that she has a point.

"Well he's safe until Eliot sees him, after that is anyone's guess" Quinn tells her as he pulls up outside the lakeside house.

They get out of the truck and walk towards the front door, but before they even reach the porch the front door flys open and Ruby comes running out, flinging her arms around Quinn's neck and hugging him tightly, Parker smiles and gestures that she'll watch the girls while Quinn and Ruby talk.

Once the front door has closed behind Parker Quinn says "hey, hey, it's ok! Everything is ok, come and sit on the swing while I talk to you" holding her a little away from himself so he can look her in the face, then leads her to the porch swing by the hand.

Once they're both sat, turned to face each other, Quinn starts "Jayda is alive, she's been hurt, quite badly, but she's had surgery to remove her gall bladder, after it was damaged and was bleeding, and she's gonna be ok, Eliot is with her and so is your dad, and they're taking care of her, the thing is, the one behind all this was Jared, he tortured her, had cut her up, like you only worse, and.... he boasted about raping her, Eliot flipped out when he said that and he killed him, he broke his neck, it was instantaneous, he didn't suffer, but he's gone, forever, I'm sorry"

"I'm not, the only thing I'm sorry about is that he died so quickly, he deserved to be tortured for a long time before dying, he got off too light. Is he in a shallow grave somewhere or am I going to have to wait seven years to have him declared dead?" She asks him.

"His body was arranged to make it look like he fell down the stairs and broke his neck like that, and the house is burning to the ground as we speak, see the smoke over there?" He says pointing at a column of smoke rising above the trees some distance away "hopefully there will be no chance of any of this being figured out by the cops, once the fire's out and they search the ashes they'll find his body and you'll become a widow, we can get married anytime we want after that, but lets not hurry too much, you hurried with Jared and regretted it, I don't want you to regret it with me" he says with a self deprecating grimace on his lips.

"Quinn..., Sean, I could never regret being with you, and I don't believe I could ever regret being married to you, but if you want to wait, we can, whatever you want is fine, I love you" she tells him, taking hold of his face with both hands and kissing him gently but passionately, showing him how much he's loved and wanted.

"C'mon lets go inside, it's freezing out here and you only have a sweater on!" He tells her, standing up and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, before leading her to the door and inside.

When they open the door they find Parker, Sarah and Jane cuddled up on the sofa, Parker telling them a child friendly version of what happened, replacing Jared's name with 'the bad guy' and telling them "he was arrested and sent to prison", rather than 'Eliot killed him in a rage', and telling them that Jayda was going to be ok, and that Eliot was with her now, looking after her with their grandfather, in the hospital.

Ruby turns to Quinn with a soft smile on her face and tells him "the clothes for Eliot and nightclothes for Jayda, along with toiletries and things are in his bag, I put the rest of his stuff in the empty chest of drawers in the bedroom upstairs, and I left the bag at the bottom of the stairs"

Quinn smiles back at her and says "I'm just popping upstairs, there's something I need to get for Eliot"

"Ok" she replies, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the lips quickly, before going over to join the girls on the sofa.

He runs up the stairs, going straight into Jayda and Eliot's room, he looks around until he spots a beautiful, hand carved, wooden box sat on the dressing table, he goes to it and opens the lid, sat inside, on top of everything else, is Eliot's engagement ring, and Quinn knows immediately that this is what he was asked to bring. He puts the ring in his pocket and heads down the stairs, hoping they won't ask what he was after.

"Hey Quinn! Come hear about what the girls have been doing while we were gone!" Parker calls over to him as he reaches the bottom of the stairs.

"What's that then?" He asks, sitting on the couch next to Ruby, and having Jane instantly climb into his lap, making him beam.

"Me and Sarah were drawing, she drew some pictures for Eliot, did you know he's her real dad?! And I drew one for you, because you're my new dad, I'm not as good as Sarah, but I did my best" she says looking down at her lap shyly, while Parker, and to a much lesser degree Ruby, stare at him wide eyed over the 'new dad' part of her comment.

"Well Tazzie, it doesn't matter who's better, and better is only someone else's perception anyway, all that ever matters is you did your best and that YOU like it, no matter what anyone else says" Quinn tells her while cuddling her.

"Are you really our new daddy?" Sarah asks, Looking at Quinn speculatively.

Quinn looks over her head at Ruby, asking with his eyes what answer he should give, she looks back and does a little shrug, then turns her open hands to him, meaning it's up to you, your choice.

"Well, yes, it looks like I am, if that's ok?" He asks very seriously.

"You won't try to stop me from calling Eliot daddy?" She demands, not wanting to lose him when she only just found out about him.

"No, I wouldn't do that, Eliot is one of my best friends, and even if I did try, it wouldn't change the fact that he _is_ your daddy, nothing can ever change that" Quinn tells her.

"What about Jared, he won't come back or try to make us live with him, will he?" She asks, sounding terrified.

Quinn again looks over her head at Ruby, she hadn't intended to let the girls know he was dead, but now would be the best way to tell them, so she shrugs then nods at him, giving him permission to tell them.

"No sweetheart, he won't ever come back or try to get custody of either of you, he'll never hurt or threaten you ever again, I promise" Quinn tells her.

"How can you promise? How can you be sure?" She demands, a little bit of _growl_ slipping into her voice.

"Because Jared died in an accident this morning, so he'll never be able to come near you, or harm you ever again, he's gone forever, he'll never lock Sarah in a cage, or shout, or throw things, or hurt either of you or your mommy ever again, I promise on my life." Quinn answers her, making Jane start to cry and Sarah to go very pale and sickly looking with her bottom lip trembling.

"Oh, hey no! Don't cry Tazzie!" Quinn says, cuddling Jane up against his chest, rubbing circles on her back, as her small arms wrap around his neck, while she sobs against his chest.

Meanwhile Sarah's biting her lip and fidgeting with her hands, as her eyes fill with tears, when parker tries to lift her onto her lap for a hug, she gets an unexpected response, Sarah lashes out at her, slapping her hands away and then flinches back, crouching like she expects to be hit or kicked back, before shouting "I'm _sorry_! I didn't _mean_ it! I just wanted him to _stop_ hurting us! and shouting and saying nasty things! I didn't _know_ he'd _die_! I don't want to be _bad_ anymore!" Before collapsing to the floor and sobbing loudly, after a few moments parker picks her up from the floor, letting her curl up into a ball on her lap as she continues to sob loudly.

If Eliot had been there he would have understood what Sarah meant with the things she said, but the three adults present had no idea of the things Jared had made her believe, so Quinn asks softly "Sarah? Why are you sorry? what didn't you mean? Why do you think you're bad?"

"I... I... I'm sorry that I wished he'd die, I di... didn't mean for him to actually d... die, I just wanted him to go away, leave us alone and stop hur...hurting us! I didn't think wishes came _true_! None of mine ever had before! Like when I w... wished he wouldn't put me in the cage when I Changed, it hurts because it's too sm... small and I can't sit down in it! But it's j... just like he said, bad things happen around me because I'm a _bad, dirty, animal_ and it's all my fault! It only worked because I made a b... b... bad wish!" Sarah stammers out, her talking sounding more like a hysterical wail by the end.

"Hey! No, Sarah, none of that's true! It's not your fault, you didn't make this happen by wishing for it, and you're not bad, or dirty, or an animal just because you're a were, and it didn't happen because you made a bad wish, it happened because he was drunk and fell down some stairs, the reason bad things happened around you are because he made them happen, he was the one who caused it all, and hopefully now he's gone, you'll see I'm telling the truth when the bad things don't happen anymore." Quinn tells her earnestly, looking her in the eyes and smiling gently at her.

"You're sure it's not my fault?" She asks timidly, once she gets her hysterical crying under control.

"I'm absolutely sure" he tells her, smiling a little more broadly at her now.

"So you'll be my all-the-time-dad and Eliot will be my other daddy?" She asks quietly.

"Yes, so long as that's ok with you, if you want you can carry on calling Eliot daddy and just call me Quinn, or Sean, I don't mind, I just want you and Jane and your mommy to be happy" he replies, giving her some options in case she doesn't want to call him dad.

Jane looks at Sarah and then looks up at Quinn "I want to call you daddy, I don't have anyone else to call that now" she says, looking a little sad.

"Well thank you Tazzie, I don't have anyone else to be a daddy to, so I'm glad you want me to be your dad" he says in reply, just as he finishes speaking he hears Ruby sniffle and looks up at her, to find her eyes full of guilt and regret, he tips his head slightly, giving her a look of such understanding and empathy that she has to fight to keep herself from starting to cry, but not over Jared, over the fact she can never give Quinn a child of his own.

"I want to call you dad too, it's just I want to call Eliot daddy as well, is that ok?" Sarah asks quietly, having noticed that Ruby was upset now too, and worrying just a little that it's her fault.

"Of course it is, you can call either of us whatever you want, we'll both still love you the same" Quinn tells her smiling at her worried expression.

"Ok, well now we have that sorted out, I need to go back to the hospital with Parker and take Eliot and Jayda some things. Ruby, I need you to go home to the farm and wait for me there, I doubt Eliot's gonna leave the hospital until Jayda does, unless she makes him, but he's gonna need some new clothes and things, so I'll see about getting him what he needs. Hardison and Parker are gonna be staying at your dads house and no matter what, I'll be home every night by seven, in time to tuck the girls into bed, during the day I'll do whatever Eliot needs me to and anything you need me to, but i'd like you at home now that it's safe..." Quinn says.

He's about to continue when Sarah says "I want to go to the hospital, Jayda needs me to help her heal, as well as needing Eliot, because we're all Pack, we can help, can I go please mommy?"

"Well... erm, Quinn?" Ruby asks, not knowing if Eliot wants Sarah there.

"I'm sure Eliot and Jayda would be really happy to have Sarah come stay for a while, like she says, she can help Jayda heal faster" Quinn answers "we'll take her with us if that's ok?" He checks with Ruby.

"Yeah, but she's gotta come home to sleep" Ruby insists.

"But...!" Sarah starts, before her mom cuts her off.

"No, you sleep at home, I don't want you to sleep at the hospital, okay? And Jayda and Eliot need some time alone to talk as well, so that's the condition" Ruby tells her.

"Okay" Sarah says with a sigh, knowing she won't win this argument.

"Right c'mon, everybody move, is the fire safe Ruby?" Quinn asks as the girls put their shoes on and he goes to pick up Eliot's bag.

"Yeah, I've turned the heating on so I let the fire go out a few hours ago" she tells him.

Once they're all out and the doors are all locked, Ruby stands on the porch step above the one Quinn is stood on, her arms around his neck as they kiss, slowly at first but with increasing passion, his hands slipping from where they started on her hips to back and down onto her ass, grabbing two handfuls and massaging the muscles there, before lifting her up by his grip and turning her around, so his back is to the house, leaving her no choice but to wrap her legs around his waist, once she has he breaks their kiss and whispers into her ear "tonight I'm gonna have you like this, up against the wall in the bathroom" making her moan quietly at just the thought, once he lets her down, Ruby and Jane get into Ruby's truck and head to the horse farm via the grocery store, and Parker, Quinn and Sarah head to the hospital via the sub shop in Jayda's truck.

ELIOT/JAYDA

The doctor has finished with Jayda's wrist, she's told him she's put it in a traction cast and that they'd X-ray it again tomorrow to see how the alignment is before deciding if she needed to go through a surgery again.

The anaesthetist has stopped his drugs and Jayda has shown signs of waking, but is still intubated until her awareness reaches a certain level, because her blood oxygen is still a little low. The room is much quieter now, just him, Jayda and the nurse who's been with him the whole time, waiting until Jayda wakes up and she can take the breathing tube out, he's not left Jayda's side since he was allowed to come in, keeping hold of each of her hands as he was allowed, remembering how safe he'd felt after being shot, because Sarah had been there, touching him, being Pack, and how it had helped him heal.

He hopes his blood is helping her to heal more like a were than a half-were, she is going to need all the help she can get. She has the obvious diamond cut marks everywhere below her neck, the whip marks he's seen down her back when they arrived in the basement, the texture of her skin, which he recognises very well after he spent over six months looking like that, the bruise on her face, which has been X-rayed but luckily her jaw and cheekbone weren't broken.

And then the damage he can't see, the emotional, from the miscarriage and being raped, not to mention the internal tearing caused by her assailants, how is he ever meant to make her feel safe again? How would he ever dare touch her and be sure it's what she wants ever again? He has no idea how he is meant to help her, and it makes him feel completely powerless, and afraid, for the first time in a very long time.

As he's thinking this Jayda's eyes start flickering, then she tries to take a breath against the machine, when she can't she starts to panic, reaching up to the tube, Eliot keeps hold of her right hand though and she can't really use her left, so she turns to see what's holding her hand away from her face, when she focuses on Eliot her eyes go wide, before instantly rolling back in her head as she faints.

"What happened?" Asks the nurse as she reaches the bed from the small desk she'd been doing paperwork at.

"She woke up and went to pull the tube, to stop her I kept hold of her hand, when she got her eyes to focus and she saw me, her eyes went as wide as they'll go and then rolled back in her head, I think she fainted, as if she got a shock" he tells her quickly.

"Ok, well how about we get this tube out before she wakes up again?" The nurse proposes, pulling over a little rolling table with what she'll need on it. Within thirty seconds she has the tube out and has cleaned up the tiny amount of vomit that came out with it, most likely from Jayda's gag reflex being aggravated, and he's finally able to see her face unobstructed.

He settles down into his chair again, waiting for her to wake up, praying to anyone who'll listen that she'll recover from this, please.

QUINN/PARKER/HARDISON

When they arrive back at the hospital Quinn, Parker and Sarah are loaded down by lunches from the sub shop in town, enough for all of them, plus coffees for the adults. When they get to the little area they've taken over, Diwali is sat talking to Eric and Hardison quietly.

"Ah! You're back, I just came out to let Eric and Alec know that Jayda has woken up, she's going to be moved to a room on a ward soon, and then you'll be able to visit her for a short while, I'm doing what I can to allow you all more access than usual but one of the doctors in charge of her care is a were-hater, so he'll try everything he can to stop you all from visiting, which will slow her healing, luckily most of the staff here are of our tribe, so they either are a were themselves or they have a close connection to one, so they'll ignore his orders that go against our ways as much as they possibly can, but they and I can only do so much, so be prepared for that, ok?" Diwali explains to them, making all of them angry at the mention of a doctor who works in a hospital that treats weres, but who hates them so much, as it reminds them a little too much of Jared.

"How's Eliot coping?" Quinn asks, still concerned for his friend.

"He's a lot better now we know Jayda is going to survive, but I think he's blaming himself for the damage she has had inflicted on her, he thinks he should have kept her safe from it, or rescued her quicker, and I don't know what to say to change his mind. Also I think the loss of the child has hit him very, very hard" Diwali tells him, visibly concerned, as Parker and Sarah hand out the lunches.

"About that, I thought they only just met up, less than a week ago, after years apart, how did they both know she was pregnant if she was only a few days along?" Quinn inquires, honestly confused about how they could possibly have known.

"Jayda wouldn't have known for sure, but they were trying, so she told Jared she was to protect her potential child, but will have known for certain that she was losing her child when she started bleeding early, she's always on time, so if she's early or late she knows what it means. Eliot however, had known for certain, the morning of the exchange he had noticed a change in her scent, but had been unable to place the change, because he'd never smelt his Mate pregnant before, but I was able to explain it to him, so he knew all along what was being risked" Diwali explains, making Quinn feel even worse for his best friend.

"Any idea about how long it'll be before we can see them?" Quinn asks, wanting to be there for both of them.

"Just soon, although I would think it'll be under an hour" Diwali answers him.

"Then I guess we keep waiting" Quinn replies.

ELIOT/JAYDA

Eliot is sat, stroking Jayda's right hand with his left, and her face with his right, trying to show her he's there and he loves her, she still hasn't awoken from her faint, which is worrying him a little, but since the doctors aren't worried he's trying not to either.

"Mr Spencer?" A new doctor asks.

"Yes?" Eliot replies, looking up in surprise.

"Hi, I'm the on-call OBGYN consultant, when Jayda was being treated earlier there was mention made that she was possibly miscarrying? And that she may have been sexually abused during the time she was missing? I've come to examine her and see what we can do for her, so what can you tell me about what has happened?" The doctor explains.

"We know Jayda was.... she was... raped while she was missin', she was tortured too, also in a sexual way as well as the more obvious signs of external torture. She was pregnant when she was taken, I'm a were, and i'd smelled it on her that mornin', she was definitely pregnant, when we found her she was bleedin' and crampin', and she's not due yet, she's always on time, never early, that's how I know what's happenin', even though she can't tell me" Eliot explains to the doctor, hating having to say these words.

"Ok what I need to do is give her an examination, now since she's still unconscious, what we'll do is secure her so that she can't hurt herself if she wakes up while I'm examining her, and then I'll..." the doctor starts.

" _ **NO**_! You're not tyin' her up, and you're not touchin' her in that way, until she's awake to give her permission. Don't you think she's had enough strangers tyin' her down and touchin' her there? If it was you how would you react to wakin' up like that after a week of torture, rape and abuse? You'd panic right? Well I'm not lettin' you put her through that, you can wait until she's awake" Eliot declares, a distinctI've  _growl_ in his voice.

"Very well, tell the nurse to call for me when you're ready for me to do my job" she tells him huffily.

Eliot doesn't even watch her as she leaves the room, all his attention back on Jayda and their Bond, which is flaring a little every few seconds, making him think and hope she's beginning to wake up again.

"Eric?" She whispers quietly, feeling the weight of the cast on her wrist and in her semi-sedated state thinking it's the manacle.

"No sweetheart, it's me, Eliot, you're in hospital, you were badly hurt but we got you out..." Eliot says, trailing off when he sees the look of terror on her face.

"What's wrong? Why are you so scared?" He asks, putting his hand on the side of her face and opening his side of their Bond as wide as he can, pouring all his love and all the comfort he can into it, hoping it will help calm her.

"You're dead! Did I die? Did he _finally_ kill me?" She rushes out, still looking panicked, but her scent settling a little, into.... acceptance?

"I'm not dead, darlin', and neither are you, Eric got the information to us about where you were and who was holdin' you, me, Parker and Quinn came and got you out. When Jared boasted about some of the things he'd done.... I lost control, he's... gone, he'll never hurt you, Ruby or the girls ever again."

"he hurt Ruby? And the girls? He said.... he said you died of the gunshot wound, that it was a sliver bullet, and that,... that he killed my _dad_!" She starts at a whisper and ends in a wail, tears rolling down from her eyes into her hair.

"Hey, no, darlin', your dad is fine, he was in here treatin' you just a little bit ago, he'll be back soon, I was shot with a silver bullet, but your dad got it out quick and I had Sarah to help me heal. Also I had an unfair advantage, your dad thinks I'm the True Alpha, so I heal even quicker with Pack around me, and that's why you're showin' signs of being a were, because I unknowingly turned you into a half-were, you'll have all of the same signs as me, only you won't be able to fully Change, _sorry_ " Eliot tells her with a small shrug.

"You're sure everyone's ok? No one but him was hurt?" She asks, the panic slowly seeping out of her voice and scent.

"He'd been abusin' Sarah, putting her in a tiny cage when she Changed, shoutin' at her and hittin' her, he's never hurt Jane, he has been hurtin' Ruby too though, cuttin' her and beatin' her, and from what she's been tellin' Quinn, rapin' her too, she'll be fine though, Quinn already proposed to her..." he tells her with a crooked smile.

" _ **Proposed**_ to her? It's been less than a week!" She exclaims in surprise.

"He proposed within about eighteen hours of meetin' her, but he means it, he loves her, and he knows he'd have both of us to answer to if he ever hurt her or the girls, and he's scared _shitless_ of you" Eliot tells her, a smile in his voice.

"Can I have some water?" She asks him, giving him a small, tentative smile.

"Sure" Eliot replies, going to get her a small cup of water, as he does the door opens and Diwali comes in, going straight to Jayda's side.

"Jay! Thank god you're awake! How are you feeling? Do you need anything?" He asks her, taking her right hand and stroking it as he speaks, Eliot comes back and gives Jayda a drink with a straw before she answers.

"I feel like I've been hit by an eighteen wheeler and then sprayed with acid, but I'm so glad to see you both, I thought I never would again, and all I need is to go home and be with our family, _please_ " she replies, her voice becoming a begging whine for the last word.

"You're going to feel worse before you feel better I'm afraid, we had to do a laparoscopy to remove your gall bladder, when you took that blow to your side it ruptured and you were bleeding internally, if Eliot and the others had been even ten minutes later coming for you, you would have died from blood loss. It's going to be a while before you get to go home, between the laparoscopy and your shattered wrist, not to mention both feet having a number of the small bones broken and one of your ankles, then the damage to your skin too, they'll want to keep you here, to protect against infection and because you won't be walking anywhere for a while, and they still need to examine you internally, Eliot wouldn't let them while you were unconscious, so they're waiting to examine you as soon as you're ready" Diwali tells her as gently as he can.

" _ **NO**_! I don't want them to examine me!" Jayda shouts out as she tries to scramble up the bed away from them both, but finds that the pain in her body is too severe and she shouts out a scream, before rolling on her side towards Eliot.

"Hey, hey, calm down! You're safe here, I won't ever let anyone hurt you again, but the doctor needs to examine you, they need to check you're physically ok after what was done to you, and they need to know there are no complications from.... fr.... from the miscarriage" Eliot says quietly, stroking her hair and her face lovingly.

"But, but,... but I don't want you to know! I don't want _either_ of you to know what he did! I don't want _anyone_ to know! Please, don't make me..." she cries, curling into Eliot's side, then putting her broken arm around his waist and pulling him tight against the side of the bed, so that she can burrow her face into his stomach more.

Eliot looks over her shoulder to where Diwali is standing, his face openly showing his worry and his confusion over what to say and do in reply.

"Shhhh, honey, no ones gonna force you to do anythin', but sweetheart, he told me what he did to you, he _boasted_ about it, now I know he didn't have time to tell me the whole story, his neck was broken way too quickly after he boasted about it for him to tell me anymore, but Eric? The guy who 'looked after' you? he's waitin' outside and I'm pretty sure he's told Parker, Hardison and Quinn the whole story by now, and you know those guys will tell me, so there's nothin' to keep secret, ok?" He crouches down to be on the same level as her face as he speaks, not stopping the stroking of his hands over her exposed skin as he talks.

"But I don't _want_  you to know, I don't _want_ you to know how _dirty_ and _broken_ I am now, I don't want you to be _disgusted_ or _repulsed_ by me, I can't bare it if you start to _hate_ me..." she says mournfully, covering her eyes with her good hand and starting to cry.

"Darlin' no, I _love_ you, I'll always love you, I could _never_ hate you or be disgusted or repulsed by you, you're my _Mate_ , the Mate of the True Alpha, and _nothin_ ' could stop that from bein' true. Now, you need to be examined, if you don't want me here I'll leave and I'm sure your dad will do the same, but I think you'd rather have one of us stay, rather than be left alone, but it's up to you, I promise." Eliot tells her, reassuring her that nothing has changed between them.

"I... I think i'd rather dad didn't know what happened, either way you'll need to know I guess, but he doesn't need to know what happened to me, if that's ok, dad?" She decides falteringly.

"Whatever you want, as Eliot said we love you, but if you don't want me to know I will respect that, I'll go let OBGYN know you're ready for them, and check how much longer until you're taken to a ward alright? Be brave." Diwali tells her, kissing her on the forehead before leaving the room.

"Eliot?" She says in a whisper.

"Yeah darlin'?" He answers, crouching down to face her again.

"I'm _sorry_ ,.... that I didn't do a good enough job of protectin' our baby,... I tried but I just..." Jayda starts.

"No! Stop, hush, that wasn't your fault, you did your best, but he _hated_ us, he would have done anythin' to make us both hurt even a little bit more, and this has hurt us a lot, but don't you ever think it's your fault or that I blame you, not even in the slightest, I should have come to rescue you earlier, if it's anyone's fault apart from Jared's then it's mine" Eliot cuts her off, making sure she knows that he puts no blame on her.

"No, none of the blame rests on you! it was all Jared, he was determined to cause as much pain as he could, both physical and emotional, none of this was your fault" she replies to him, smiling sadly and reaching out to stroke his anguished face, as a few tears escape her eyes again.

He's just about to speak again when the door behind him opens and the OBGYN from earlier enters the room.

"I need you to leave" she tells Eliot instantly, before even introducing herself to Jayda "you can't stay here for this"

"No! Eliot's stayin', he's my..." Jayda starts before Eliot speaks over her.

".... Husband, and I ain't leavin' unless she asks me to, why do you want me to leave anyway?" Eliot's asks, not understanding what the doctors problem with him was.

"I feel unsafe with you here, after your threatening display earlier, I have every right to have you removed. If your wife will not submit to the examination, then we will restrain her and perform all necessary treatment while she is restrained. We will then place her under our psychiatric care and you will not be allowed to visit until we are sure that neither you nor she are a threat to her safety. Now leave while the orderlies help me with her." She declares haughtily, before turning her back on him to call three huge orderlies in, men who looked more like body builders than hospital staff.

"Wait! She has allergies you need to know about before you touch her, it's to do with the gloves and things, just let me get doctor Red Cloud to explain to you..." Eliot says, trying to hold them up for a minute while he thinks. While he waits for a reply he looks down and notices all of their boots, including the doctor's, they were army style boots, something a doctor would never wear... as Eliot raises his head quickly he's just fast enough to avoid the blow that was coming from one of the orderlies, ducking under and coming up hard with a two handed punch to the man's solar plexus, making him drop like a stone. The other two orderlies are holding Jayda down, one on each side, while Jayda growls and snaps at them, fighting them until she's held down by her wrists and ankles, then still bucking up against their grip, and the woman is coming towards her with a long needle, Eliot turns his earbud on and shouts "Quinn! Four attackers! Get in here now!"

Once he's finished speaking he grabs the woman and tosses her across the room, making her drop the needle, which Eliot stomps on with a satisfying crunch, before going to one of the men and grabbing him to spin him around. At this point Quinn and Parker arrive, Quinn making the other guy let go of Jayda, who sits up as best she can and scrambles backwards up to the head of the bed, whimpering in pain, and Parker tasing the woman into unconsciousness. In less than thirty seconds the three of them had immobilised or knocked out all four assailants and hospital security had arrived to take them to a locked room.

"What happened?" Diwali says as he barges into the room.

"A group of Jared's men, and a woman came to hurt Jayda, luckily I refused to leave, or I don't know what they might have done to her" Eliot tells him, going straight to Jayda as he speaks, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly, stroking her hair, trying to calm her down, then get her to move back down the bed and lay down, but she just keeps a tight grip on Eliot and cries into his chest, refusing to move from her curled up position, clothed in just a sheet, at the head of the bed.

"Very well, as soon as OBGYN have looked at her and her wrist has been X-rayed again we're taking her home, she's safer there, her security is good and she'll have you, and I assume Quinn, there to protect her and Sarah as well as you to help her heal, I'll take responsibility for her medical care." Diwali says.

"Ok, but it might take a while to calm her down enough for the other doctors, I'll let you know when we're ready, and if you could bring them in and vouch for them before leavin' again I think it'll help" Eliot requests, worrying even more because he's never seen Jayda panic and lose it like this before.

Diwali nods and says "just tell a nurse to come get me when you're ready" and slips out of the door, leaving Parker, Quinn and Eliot with Jayda.

"Hey, Jay, there's someone I want you to meet, can you look up for me?" Eliot asks gently "I promise you're safe now"

At first Jayda shakes her head against his stomach, but with some coaxing and gentle stroking of her head, and a lot of reassurance she finally lifts her head.

Eliot smiles at her proudly and indicates the man stood beside him just a foot or two away then says "Jay, this is my good friend Sean Quinn, he helped us get you back and has... started a relationship with Ruby"

Quinn nods at her and says "it's a pleasure to meet the woman that people are more scared of than me, but it's even more of an honour to meet the woman Eliot will settle down for, just call me Quinn, everyone but Ruby does"

Jayda looks up at him from her curled position gripping Eliot's waist and says self-depreciatingly "I must be a real let down, a panickin' woman who cries at the slightest thing, clingin' onto her boyfriend like her life depends on it"

"Not at all, the fact that you're alive, lucid, and _angry_ enough to think like that just shows how fearsome you are, I'm in awe of you, any woman Eliot loves is bound to be awe inspiring, and I know you're the only one who's ever had that privilege, you've been through a lot, and you're still here, being as strong as you can, you could _never_ be a disappointment, you're family" Quinn tells her, a little shyly and with a slight blush on his cheekbones.

"So, Ruby likes you because you're a sweet talker then?" Jayda asks with a smirk and a hint of laughter in her voice "you treat her and the girls right and I'll have no argument with you. Just remember, me and Eliot are not goin' to let ANYONE hurt our babygirl ever again, just because we haven't brought her up doesn't mean we don't love her, and if any of them are hurt again, I'm goin' to make what's been done to me look like a relaxin' day at the spa, compared to what I'll do, understood?" She continues in a deadly serious voice.

"I understand, and if I do hurt any of them I hope you'll follow through on that threat, with a vengeance" Quinn replies, also deadly serious. Then he turns to Eliot and adds "I've got what you asked for, by the way" before holding his fisted hand out to Eliot, who puts his hand underneath and catches what Quinn drops, smiling Eliot slides his engagement ring back on and flexes his hand, before leaning down and whispering into Jayda's ear "I love you" and kissing her on the forehead, then turning to Quinn to say "thank you"

While they've been introducing themselves to each other, and Quinn has returned Eliot's ring to him, Jayda has relaxed somewhat, she's straightened her legs into curves, rather than having them tightly folded in half, her grip on Eliot, whilst still there, it is not as desperate as it had been, now it is more of a relaxed hug, and she's leaning into his side rather than clamped to it. As she continues to unwind from her little ball, Quinn and Jayda joke back and forth, mostly at Eliot's expense, but sometimes at each other's, like when they've crossed paths, at a distance, while on separate jobs, or when they've heard of a job go very badly, or very well, for the other, or the most extreme things they've heard each of the other has done. As their conversation continues, Eliot manages to manoeuvre Jayda down and back into the bed, covering her in another sheet and then a blanket as she's shivering a little, to help reassure her and help her warm up he sits on the bed behind her and wraps his arms around her, making her feel secure, safe and loved, helping her to relax further.

Once Jayda's cuddled up in Eliot's arms comfortably, and the scent of panic has left her, Eliot tunes out their conversation and listens to her heartbeat, he finds it calm and strong, if a little bit fast, but he puts that down to blood loss and physical trauma, once he's heard what he needs to he looks up and nods at Parker, who slips out of the door, off to go find Diwali and let him know Jayda was more ready to talk about seeing an OBGYN now.

As he waits for Diwali to join them Eliot adds his own little bits into Jayda and Quinn's conversation, telling little stories about each of them that makes the other laugh, but it's not long until Parker returns with Diwali in tow.

"Are you feeling a little better now daughter?" He asks, coming to stand beside her and stroking her hair while he looks at Eliot and Quinn.

"Yes father, I just needed a few minutes, I'm sorry for showin' you up....." she says submissively.

"No, Jayda you have nothing to apologise for, you didn't show me up in any way, you did nothing wrong at all, do you feel ready to see the doctor now? Once you've seen her then Eliot will take you home." Diwali tells her, her eyes lighting up at the mention of Eliot taking her home.

"If it means we can go home then yes, I'm ready" Jayda replies, obviously putting on a brave face for the men around her.

"Very well, I shall go and get the specialist and return here with her, so that you'll know they're the right people" Diwali tells all of them before leaving the room.

"Do you want us to go?" Parker asks, from where she's perched on top of a cabinet of medical supplies.

"Can you both just wait until they come back, just in case, please?" Jayda answers a little timidly, looking up at Quinn and then half-turning to Eliot and grimacing a little.

"No problem" Quinn answers for them both, smiling a small smile down at her.

"Thank you, both of you" she tells them, slipping her uncasted hand into Eliot's while her other arm stays resting around his waist.

Eliot continues to stroke Jayda's hair with his free hand, combing his fingers through it and trying to work the knots out as gently as he can. But when he next looks at her face he realises that the bruise she had from her eye to her jawline has not just faded as would be expected of a were, but has in fact completely healed, there is no sign of it at all.

"Jay, your face...." he whispers to her.

"What?" She says panic clear in her voice.

"The bruise you had, the one from your jaw up to your eye, it's completely healed, there's no sign it was ever there, you shouldn't be able to heal like that, it's only been four hours..." Eliot tells her, looking amazed.

"Well I don't know how anythin' like that could happen...." she replies, sounding concerned.

"Maybe it's down to the transfusion, you can't get Pack much closer than that, can you?" He tells her, squeezing her hand gently to reassure her.

There's a knock at the door and Diwali sticks his head around, checking it's ok to come in before leading a new doctor into the room.

"Jayda, Eliot, this is Mary, a very good OBGYN who specialises in cases... where a woman has been abused" Diwali introduces, Jayda flinching at the end of his statement.

Mary was a woman just a little older than Eliot and Jayda, maybe by five or at most ten years, she was attractive but not what was modernly considered beautiful, more of a classic beauty, a well proportioned, curvy figure, long barrel curled, almost black hair and almond shaped, green eyes with long lashes. Sitting next to her Jayda felt even more ruined than she had before, a mess of cuts, scars and broken bones, not to mention the psychological scars that she didn't know were there yet, hidden like an unmapped minefield, just waiting for Eliot or herself to make the wrong move.

But despite how bad Jayda felt compared to Mary, she couldn't help herself from liking and even trusting her. She exudes such an air of competence and safety, that Jayda just wants to entrust everything to her and mentally check out for a while, even though she knows she can't, that it wouldn't be fair to scare Eliot like that after everything.

"Quinn, Parker, lets us leave Jayda in peace to have the tests she needs, and when she's done we'll get her and Eliot home" Diwali says from the doorway, ushering the pair out when they reach him before closing the door behind himself.

"Okay, Jayda, I haven't been told what happened, but if your internal injuries are as bad as the external this might be a little uncomfortable. I'll do my best to be both quick and gentle, but I'm more interested in treating you correctly the first time, rather than having to treat you again because I hurried too much and missed something. Now can you tell me what happened?" Mary asks calmly.

Jayda looks down at her lap and takes a deep breath, then quickly peeks up at Eliot before focusing on Mary "I was being held captive, the guy in charge had an implement that he used on me. It looked like a cross between a toilet brush and a bottle brush, but was made with the bristles of a floor-scrubbing brush, he.... well he fucked me with it, using a twistin' motion as well as the usual in and out motion, it hurt, a lot. The next day, or I think it was anyway, he came down into the room I was in and.. an... and he raped me, the way men are raped. Later that night, or maybe the next morning he had a group of his men come down, they took turns, everywhere, they ripped me open again in the back... and two of them had me at the same time in the front, making me tear there too, the pain was so bad I passed out, after that no one touched me like that again" Jayda tells her in an emotionless voice, the one that reminds Eliot of the way she sounded after he woke her up on the porch swing, back on the day the exchange was made, he hates hearing that voice, he realises as he stands there holding her hand.

"Ok, just a few questions, you were pregnant?" Mary asks.

"Yes" Jayda replies in that calm, cold voice again.

"But you were within the first month, yes?" She continues.

"Yes" still Jayda sounds calm, too calm.

"And your miscarriage started before you were released?" She asks with a raised brow.

"Yes" Jayda answers, this time her voice hitches as she does.

"Did any of your attackers use condoms?" Mary asks, looking very concerned.

"No, none of them did" Jayda replies with tears in her eyes.

"And before your miscarriage they caused you to bleed from both of your lower orifices?" Mary asks her final question.

"Yes" Jayda says in a whisper, hating for Eliot to have to hear this.

"Ok, I'm going to examine you, and take some samples, see if we can't catch your attackers through their DNA, I'll also take swabs to check for any STI's that they may have passed onto you. So I know you're going to hate it but I need you to scootch down the bed a little and put your legs in the stirrups when I lift them into place, can you do that? And since you've been torn in the ways you have, I'm going to have to do examinations on both areas that have received tears, I know it'll be uncomfortable but it is essential it's done, that alright with you?" Mary asks kindly.

"Yes it's fine, I just want it all over with" Jayda tells her before moving down the bed a little, once the stirrups are in place she looks up at Eliot worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'm right here, she does anythin' wrong I'll stop her, you know the only thing I care about now is keepin' you safe" Eliot whispers into her ear, giving her a kiss on the cheek at the end.

Jayda looks back at Mary, biting her lip, but the doctor doesn't seem to be worried about how long she's taking, she's just patiently waiting for her to move in her own time, when Jayda looks at her she even gives her a little encouraging smile, but there is no feeling of 'hurry up' behind it, which makes Jayda feel safer and more in control, so she lifts her legs and puts them into the stirrups, with a little guidance from Mary, who gently strokes her lower leg, while she gets as comfortable as anyone can with their legs parted in the air in front of a stranger.

"Alright Jayda, you know what happens now, right? I'll be as quick as I can, if you need me to stop just let me know, ok?" Mary says before taking a seat on the small wheeled stool that was under the foot of the bed.

Jayda stares up at Eliot as Mary begins her examination, not wanting to think about or feel what is happening, she squeezes his hand tightly and he crouches until he's on a level with her.

"You ok darlin'?" He asks her, feeling her stress level ratcheting higher every few seconds through their Bond.

"Talk to me, tell me the things we're going to do together, _please_?" She begs, the last word tailing off into a quiet whine as Mary does something uncomfortable to her.

"Alright, well, we've gotta get married before your dad really does shoot me. We're gonna need to find Parker and Hardison an apartment in town, unless your dad wants them as permanent lodgers. We're gonna need to talk about whether you wanna join us at Leverage or keep workin' alone, once you're better that is, and talk amongst the four of us about takin' Quinn on too. We can have some fun findin' out what changes have been made by your... new abilities, which I'll explain later, and I..." Eliot talks about general things from their future until he's interrupted by her yelping.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to cause you pain, just give me a moment..." Mary says apologetically, before standing and coming to stand on the opposite side of Jayda from Eliot, who stands as she begins to speak "right, the damage wasn't as bad as I expected from your description, but there are just a couple of places i think it might be a good idea to put a few stitches in, I need to do the worse examination next, but if I'm going to give you stitches, then i'd like to do them first, but the choice on whether to have them is up to you"

Jayda turns to look at Eliot and gets the oddest sensation that he's speaking to her, even though his mouth isn't moving, so she takes the ghost voice's advice and says "no stitches unless they're really, really needed"

"Ok, whatever you want, although by the rate you seem to be healing you most likely wouldn't need them anyway, I'll get on and finish so you can cover up, keep trying to relax" Mary replies.

"Are we going to keep tryin'? To have a baby, I mean" Jayda asks Eliot quietly, looking into his eyes.

"Of course we are! So long as it's what you want too, I'll have to show you the pictures Sarah drew while she stayed with me at the house, she says they're not her imagination that th..." Eliot tells her, stopping when she starts saying the same thing word for word in time with him.

"That they're what's going to happen, like photos from the future" Jayda finishes, looking wide eyed at him "what did she show you and tell you?" She demands.

"The first picture was of you, with shoulder length hair, and a newborn baby in your arms, it looks like a black and white photo" he describes to her "the second one was of us both, both wearin' weddin' and engagement rings, me stood behind you, with one arm around your ribs and the other hand trying to feel the babies movin', again you have shoulder length hair, but this time you're very heavily pregnant, we both look so happy, I thanked her for drawin' what I wished for, that's when she told me it wasn't what I wanted she'd drawn, it was what would happen, then she told me the babies would be born in front of our fireplace at the lake house, that they'd be triplets" he tells her, sharing everything Sarah had told him.

"Did you tell her..." Jayda asks, but Eliot doesn't let her finish, knowing what the rest of the question is.

"No, I thought maybe you had?" Eliot replies.

"No, I never mentioned you to her, it hurt too much" Jayda explains.

"She's done this before though? Drawn pictures of things that she couldn't know or things that haven't happened yet?" Eliot asks.

"Yes, about eighteen months ago she drew a picture of you, you were stood between who I now know were Parker and Hardison, you were wearin' a red tshirt with a kanji symbol on it, one arm had been cut away and your shoulder was bandaged, there was a bandage and spreadin' blood stain on your jeans too, she told me 'the man with the pretty hair' had been shot by a bad man who wanted to make people sick, but she had no idea who you were, she said she sometimes had dreams about you, that you liked to cook 'like grandpa does only better', I had such a hard time keepin' a straight face when she told me that, but it turns out it's true. Thing is there's no way she could have even known what you look like, let alone anythin' about you, but when I saw the scars on you, in the exact places she had said you'd been shot? I knew there was somethin' even more special about our daughter than i'd realised" Jayda tells him, letting him know this wasn't make believe on Sarah's part or a fluke either.

"There's somethin' else you need to know" Eliot tells her, looking ashamed.

"What is it?" Jayda asks, seeing the look on his face and dreading the worst.

"Sarah knows we're her real parents, while you were gone, Sarah told me about Jared hurtin' her, so I wouldn't let Ruby take her back to him, Ruby accused me of tryin' to steal her back, since you couldn't have anymore children, that now we were together we wanted her, then when Jared came to get her, he screamed abuse at me, about how you didn't tell me because you knew what a bad father i'd be, and how you never wanted me back in your life, how I had no right to Sarah because neither of us had wanted her until now, and he said it all in front of her, he had a gun and when your dad tried to intervene he aimed at him, so I Changed and held him down by the throat, I bit him hard enough to make him bleed a little but I didn't really hurt him, my Claim on you was a worse bite, while this was goin' on Sarah Changed and we ran, in the end we went to the house and Sarah showed me how she could get in, once we were Changed back she told me she'd never ran as a wolf before, because he always put her in a cage so small she couldn't even sit down in it." Eliot explains knowing he's leaving so much out but just wanting to get the main point across, but as he tells her about holding Jared down by the throat, all the blood drains out of her face leaving her deathly pale.

"Jay? What's wrong?" Eliot asks, his concern obvious.

"Now I understand, the day you did that, held him down by the throat? That was the day he raped me himself, he kept goin' on about how i'd pay for every drop of blood the wolf had taken, I didn't understand, I thought you were dead, it made no sense to me, but now I understand, he was that angry and brutal because you'd taken our daughter somewhere safe, somewhere he couldn't get to her, it was a small price to pay for her safety" Jayda tells him, hating talking about it but knowing she has to.

"Oh Jay, I'm sorry, it was all my fault!" Eliot says, nuzzling his face against the side of hers, trying to comfort her.

"It's ok... AHH!" She yelps loudly, tears coming to her eyes.

"I'm sorry about that" Mary says as she pats Jayda on the leg "but you're done, there is quite a lot of signs of tearing, but they seem to be well on their way to healing, you must have an amazing immune system" she says as she stands and removes her gloves, then helps Jayda lower her legs and cover them with the blanket "you've sustained quite a lot of trauma to both areas, most of the tears have at least knitted together enough they shouldn't give you any trouble, there are a few I considered stitching, but due to their location, I've decided stitches might be more of an irritant than a help. You seem to be fine in your uterus, as your attacker didn't cause any damage past your outer cervix, and I can't see any reason why you shouldn't manage to get pregnant again, there is some damage to your outer cervix but it's already healing well, you should be fine, but I would suggest waiting at least three to six months before trying to get pregnant again, I can write a prescription for birth control if you'd like, just until you're fully healed. And I'll have a nurse bring you a dose of the morning after pill, just to make sure you don't accidentally fall pregnant by one of your attackers" Mary offers as she picks up the sample tubes she's used, for both checking for diseases and the DNA of her attackers.

"Thank you" Eliot and Jayda both say at the same time to Mary, thankful that they got such a professional yet caring doctor when they needed it.

"Have you reported this to the police?" She asks as she goes to leave.

"Not yet, but we had all the pictures taken upon her arrival, so she can, once she's settled at home and is ready to deal with them" Eliot tells her, smiling sadly at her as he strokes Jayda's shoulder. Mary nods at them in understanding and leaves the room, two minutes later Diwali re-enters the room with a bag in one hand, the dose of the pill in the other and Sarah in tow.

Eliot leans over sideways and whispers to her "Sarah's gonna want to call you mommy, I hope that's ok?"

"I'll live with it" she whispers back, her father leading Sarah to the side of the bed and putting the bag down on the foot of it.

"Jay there are pajamas in here for you and clothes for Eliot. Also this little pup has been going mad waiting to come in and see you, so I told her she could come in just for a few minutes, but she knows to be careful since you've just had surgery" Diwali tells them "I'm just going to sit with the others and get your discharge papers sorted"

Once Diwali has left Sarah looks up at Jayda and asks "is it ok for me to call you mommy? Or do you not want to be my mommy?"

" _Sarah_! I said i'd sort it out! That was a really bad way to ask!" Eliot chides her.

"No, El, it's ok, I know what she was trying to ask, it just sounded harsher than she intended" Jayda soothes Eliot before turning to Sarah "if you want to you can call me mommy, but only if Ruby is alright with that, I don't want her to be upset by it. But the other thing you asked? I always wanted to be your mommy, but when you were born I didn't know where Eliot was, or how to get a message to him. And I was worried that if people found out I had a little girl, they might come and hurt you while I was away doing a job, and I didn't want you to ever be hurt, so I let Ruby and Jared adopt you, I'm sorry I chose wrong baby, I hope you can forgive me, I love you" Jayda says leaning down slightly to open her arms to Sarah.

"I love you too, mommy! Of course I forgive you!" Sarah replies rushing into Jayda's arms, where she tries to lift her onto the bed, Sarah's feet barely leave the floor, before Jayda drops her back down, with a quiet scream through gritted teeth.

"Jay!" Eliot shouts out, grabbing her and pulling her upright on the bed immediately and asking "are you alright? Where do you hurt?"

"I'm ok, the pain was just a shock, it hadn't been hurtin' or even a little bit sore, so I forgot about it, I didn't hurt myself, I barely lifted her, I'm fine, promise" Jayda answers, putting one hand on her belly just above her navel and pressing lightly, the other hand being clutched tightly by Sarah, who's terrified she's hurt Jayda.

"Mommy? I'm sorry I hurt you" she says quietly as Eliot kisses Jayda's forehead in relief.

"Oh, babygirl, it wasn't you who hurt me, it was me being silly and forgettin' I just had surgery, it was just a mistake, do you want to come sit on the bed with me?" She reassures her, finding that being called mommy by Sarah hurt so much more than she'd expected, it made her feel so guilty.

"I don't want to hurt you again..." Sarah says, but it's obvious she wants to be on the bed.

"You won't" Jayda promises with a smile "Eliot, can you lift her onto the bed please?"

"No problem, c'mon bug, up you come!" Eliot answers, picking Sarah up and swinging her around, before sitting her on the bed next to Jayda, where she's shuffled over to make room.

"C'mere babygirl, come have a cuddle" Jayda says, bringing Sarah in under her arm to cuddle, while Eliot leans against the side of the bed with his arm around Jayda, making it a family cuddle.

"Mommy?" Sarah says.

"Yes sweetheart?" Jayda replies.

"Why do you smell different?" She asks.

"What do you mean?" Jayda says, sounding confused.

"Your scent is different, it still smells like you, but as well as you it smells of daddy, and you smell like you're one of us now, and then there's something weird, something sour, Caleb has that smell too" Sarah explains.

"Oh, I think that might be somethin' the three of us should talk about back at the house ok? You are gonna stay for a few days with us to help me heal, right?" Jayda asks.

"So long as Ruby-mommy says it's ok, i'd like to, but I've gotta be home to sleep every night" Sarah tells them both.

"I promise you'll be home then, ok?" Eliot answers.

"Ok, daddy" Sarah answers with a big yawn.

Jayda and Eliot are just looking at each other feeling the Bond of Pack and family pulsing between them when the door opens and Diwali comes in, he takes one look at the almost asleep Sarah and shakes his head gently "I just came to take Sarah back outside so you can both get dressed, and to tell you all the discharge paperwork is done, we can leave as soon as you're ready" he tells them both.

"Hey, Sarah, go with grandpa and wait outside while me and your daddy get dressed and we'll go home ok?" Jayda whispers to Sarah, getting a quiet whine in response and Sarah trying to burrow into her left side even more "no, come on Sarah, ten minutes max and you, me and daddy will be in the back of the truck on our way home, promise" Jayda insists and gets her father to take their daughter out into the waiting room.

Eliot quickly gets himself changed into clean jeans and dresses the rest of the way, then he helps Jayda into panties, super soft, cotton, feminine, pajamas and a dressing gown, which they were both glad Ruby had thought to pack for her, Eliot takes his jeans and the two blankets that they'd wrapped Jayda in and jams them all into his bag, until they're stuffed in all the way and he can zip it closed.

"You ready?" He asks her, reaching out to take her hand and support her as she hobbles towards him "wait, this is hurtin' you isn't it? I'm gonna get you a wheelchair" he says after catching her grimacing as she took a step.

"No! I'm fine, don't fuss El, I can make it" she tells him, hating the thought of needing to use a wheelchair.

"I didn't say you wouldn't be able to make it, I said it's hurtin' you, a lot, so I'm goin' to take you out to the truck in a wheelchair, now stay right there" he commands, letting a little of the _Alpha_ slip into his voice, compelling her to obey his command.

As she stands there waiting for him to return she growls in anger and frustration, she always _hated_ when he did this to her, well it looks like he's going to need reminding of the punishment he gets for doing this to her! Just as she thinks this she starts to shake, the idea of ' _punishment_ ' terrifying her and making her feel sick to her stomach. She's still like this when Eliot returns with the wheelchair, her arms wrapped around her own waist, pale, sweating, freezing cold, shaking, with her teeth chattering and tears pouring down her face, hiccuping sobs out with each breath. As soon as he sees her he leaves the wheelchair and comes to wrap his arms around her, feeling how cold she is he starts gently rubbing her arms and back through her dressing gown, being as brisk as he dares without hurting her or starting her cuts bleeding again.

"What's wrong? what happened? Jay _talk_ to me!" Eliot begs, scared someone had tried to threaten or hurt her.

"I... I'm.....I'm sorry! I was angry you Alpha'd at me and I was gonna _punish_ you!" She wails bursting into fresh tears and gripping onto his jacket fiercely.

"Ok... I would deserve it, I know how much you hate when I command you with the Alpha voice, although I hadn't meant to use it this time, so what's so wrong?" He asks feeling so confused by her sudden hysterics.

"Being ' _punished_ ' was what he called all the things he did to me,... I don't wanna be like him! I don't wanna hurt you!" She cries out, wrapping her arms around his waist and tucking her head under his chin, sobbing relentlessly.

"Jay, listen to me, you are _nothin_ ' like him, if you did 'punish' me in the way you always did for that i'd be laughin', like I always did, you wouldn't hurt me, there's nothin' to be upset about, I promise you" he tells her, holding her close and rubbing her back in slow wide circles.

Eventually she calms down, her hysterics calming to sobbing, which finally becomes sniffles and hiccups, but still she holds onto his leather jacket in a death grip, making sure he can't back away from her. Once her sniffles and hiccups have settled down until they are just occasional, he puts his fingers under her chin and lifts her face so he can see her, using the thumb of that hand to wipe away her tears that were still clinging to her eyelashes.

"C'mon, lets get goin', I want to get you home" Eliot says, kissing her lips gently for the first time since getting her back. He lifts her into the wheelchair gently and exits the room, hoping to never see Jayda in a hospital room ever again, and comes out to where everyone is waiting.

"Eric! I'm so glad you're here, thank you for everythin' you did to keep me alive, I know i'd be dead if it wasn't for you, are you going to stay around?" Jayda says to the man she considers her guardian angel.

Meanwhile Sarah has gone to Eliot's side and is tugging on his jacket "what's up bug?" He whispers crouching down to her level, "I need to give you this back" she says, holding out the key to the lake house he'd given her that morning "thank you, bug, you did a great job of looking after it for me, I'm very proud of you" he tells her, giving her a quick hug and then hanging the key around his neck again.

"Well I don't have a job to move on to, so I was planning to book into the motel, for a few days at least" Eric answers Jayda.

"Don't leave without comin' to see me first ok? I want a chance to talk to you properly before you go anywhere" she asks.

"I promise I won't leave without coming to see you, will you be at your dads house so he can take care of you?" He asks so that he knows where to visit.

"No, I'll be at my house at the lake with Eliot and Quinn, just let us know when to expect you" she says smiling up at him, before putting her hand to her side and taking a sudden deep breath in "I think I want to go home now" she says quietly.

So Eliot says "c'mon everyone into their trucks, Quinn is drivin' ours, are you guys goin' with Diwali?" He asks Parker and Hardison.

"Yeah, if that's ok with him" Hardison replies, while Diwali nods in agreement.

"I think we'll go home and decompress some while you get yourselves settled at home together, Eliot remember what you've been told, and don't do or let Jayda do anything that'll cause any damage to her, you understand?" Diwali asks, putting so much emphasis on what he's saying, that Eliot and Jayda both think even Sarah understood what he was getting at.

"I _promise_ , nothin' that will hurt Jayda in any way, I swear" Eliot answers, his cheeks flaming.

"Lets get out of here" Jayda says, desperate to leave the smell of the hospital far behind her, so that she can curl up in her own bed, with Eliot and their daughter with her.

The group walk outside and come to the point they have to separate to get to each truck, Eric, Parker and Hardison promise to come visit soon and Diwali tells Eliot he'll call later that evening after Quinn and Sarah have left to go home to the farm. With that they go to their trucks, once Eliot, Quinn, Sarah and Jayda arrive at Jayda's truck, Eliot lifts her out of the wheelchair and into the back seat of the cab, followed by Sarah, who tries to sit on Jayda's lap, accidentally elbowing her in one of her surgical wounds, luckily not very hard though, just enough to bring tears to Jayda's eyes for a few moments, Quinn runs the wheelchair back into the hospital and then comes and climbs into the drivers seat, Eliot having come around to the left hand side of the truck, so Sarah can sit between him and Jayda without hurting Jayda when they go around corners. He makes Sarah vacate Jayda's lap and straps her in between them, checking that Jayda has her seatbelt on too before doing his own as Quinn starts the truck.

The journey is quiet, Sarah asleep between Eliot and Jayda, and Eliot with his arm across the back of the seat, stroking the back of Jayda's neck, neither of them speaking, just enjoying the closeness of being together again, being Mates, being Pack. Quinn doesn't try talking to them, he understands that they need the time to be together, that it will help them both to heal, so he just smiles softly as he drives them home, to their safe place.


	21. Family home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda, Eliot, Sarah and Quinn return to the lake house to recover, where Sarah brings new revelations to light about the abuse she's suffered, Jayda and Eliot reconnect, albeit with an unexpected audience and Ruby and Jane have an unexpected and rather unwelcome visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR:-
> 
> TALK OF TORTURE  
> DISCUSSION OF RAPE  
> TALK OF MISCARRIAGE   
> TALK OF SPOUSAL ABUSE  
> TALK OF PHYSICAL TRAUMA  
> TALK OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA AND ITS AFTERMATH  
> DESCRIPTION OF PHYSICAL TRAUMA  
> TALK OF PHYSICAL ABUSE OF A CHILD  
> FLASHBACKS  
> PTSD  
> BATTLE FATIGUE 
> 
> So I realised that chapter twenty five was getting way too long, so for those looking forward to it two hitters, a little genius and a mall ten days before Christmas will be chapters twenty five and six but I'll try to post them at the same time.
> 
> GOD HELP US ALL but I think chapter twenty seven is going to have some Parker/Hardison loving, if it's crap blame the ones who demanded it, I'll try my best but I warned you all!
> 
> So I actually tried to post this chapter last night, I went through, did all the rich text, wrote the summary and the notes and I thought I had posted it, but for some reason it didn't, after I was still up at 11am after writing and working on it (as in i'd literally been up all night until lunchtime today) I only realised when I saw that none of you wonderful people had left me messages or kudos, so, sorry you had to wait an extra 13 hours but I hope y'all enjoy this chapter
> 
> Have fun darlin's!

RUBY

Ruby and Jane arrive back at the farm after stopping in town for groceries and something to eat, to find a sheriff's department cruiser waiting for them, and a very angry looking Bruce stood with his arms crossed scowling down at the deputy stood almost cowering in front of him.

"I said I'll let her know when she gets home!" Bruce bellows at the deputy, making it obvious to anyone that knows him, that the argument had been going on long enough to really piss the gentle giant of a man off.

"I'm sorry sir but I have to speak to Ms. White Hawk in person, we have some questions about how things were between her and her husband, I'm just doing my job sir" the deputy replies just as Bruce notices that Ruby is back.

"Can I help you?" Ruby asks, even though she already knows this is about Jared's body being found she knows she has to appear shocked when she's told, so baring that in mind she schools her expression and listens to what the deputy has to say.

"Ms White Hawk?" The deputy enquires.

"Until a few days ago, yes, but please it's Ruby Red Cloud again now" she tells him, not able to stand being called by Jared's name anymore.

"But you are the wife of Jared White Hawk?" The deputy asks further, wanting to be sure he's talking to the right person.

"Until I can get a divorce, yes, I'm married to him, why _what_ has he done?" she answers with disdain in her voice.

"Erm... could we talk inside ma'am?" He replies looking extremely uncomfortable.

"No here's fine, what has he done?" She insists, knowing she's making his job hard but this is hard for her too, and she doesn't want to risk him seeing the damage done to the upstairs of the house.

"Well ma'am, I'm sorry to inform you that the house your husband owned on the edge of the woods burned down this lunchtime, when the fire was out the investigators found a badly burned body in the rubble, we believe it is your husband" he tells her, and upon hearing the news put to her like that her legs just fold underneath her, leaving her sat on her ass in the snow on the driveway in front of her porch, her face blank with shock, Bruce is at her side in an instant, coaxing and helping her back up to her feet so he can guide her inside, the deputy following uninvited.

Once inside Bruce sits Ruby at the kitchen table and brings her a glass of water, before ushering Jane into the living room to amuse herself, when Ruby goes to pick up the glass she's amazed to find that her hands are shaking so badly she can't lift it without spilling it.

"So what happened? What started the fire? And what questions are you wanting to ask about me and Jared?" She asks the deputy confusedly.

"At this point we're not exactly sure what happened, we'll know more after the autopsy and fire investigation. As for what actually started the fire, the initial presumption is an electrical fault, as the state of the house was well known by the locals. The other questions we'd like you to answer? we'd like you to answer them back at the headquarters if you don't mind?" The deputy tells her before trying to usher her to her feet.

"I need to call someone to come watch my daughter so I can come with you, can you just give me five minutes?" Ruby asks, receiving a nod in return she goes to the phone and dials Quinn's number which he'd written on the pad next to it that morning.

"Quinn?,.... something's happened, I need you to come home, Jared's dead, they found his body in his old family home, that burned to the ground at lunchtime, the police are here and they want me to come to the station for questioning in the matter of Jared's death, I need you to come look after Jane for me..... no, see if you can leave Sarah with Jayda and Eliot, she doesn't need to live through this and I know she's happy where she is, oh! How are you going to get home?..... love you too!" She says hanging up the phone.

"Ms White Hawk, who was that you called?" The deputy asks, looking suspicious.

"That was Sean Quinn he's my.... fiancée, we got together after I split up with Jared, he's been living here to make sure Jared couldn't come here and hurt me or my daughters" she says carefully.

"Daughters? You have another child?" The deputy seems to be getting more suspicious the more he asks.

"Yes, she is with Quinn, he took her over to my sisters house to visit, both my daughters are adopted, Sarah is my sister's child, she's just finally found her Mate again, who is Sarah's father and they're together properly now, for good, Jared didn't like that so he told Sarah who her real parents are, hence her going to visit, so I asked Quinn to leave her with them, so we don't need to worry about her while I deal with answering your questions" she explains, having to give him more details than she wanted to.

"Why would your husband care who your sister was seeing? And why would he tell your daughter that they were her parents?" He asks, obviously curious about this on a personal level, like it was a novel he was reading and just couldn't put down.

"My... Jared was a control freak, he had to be in control of everything, he hated Eliot, my sister's fiancée and Mate, since we were small children, I don't know why, so when she came home with Eliot with her, Mated, he went ballistic, he hates were's and had a real problem with Sarah being one, maybe because he knew who her father was, Eliot had gotten hurt, and since she'd taken such a shine to him and blamed herself for his getting hurt, I let her stay with him at my father's house overnight, while she was there she told Eliot that Jared hurt her, hit her and such, and when I got home without her Jared beat me with a wooden baseball bat for letting her stay with him, so the next day when I wanted to bring her home Eliot wouldn't let me take her, I came home and Jared attacked me, he shredded my clothes off me and tied me down on the bed, then cut me up from my knees to my collarbones, then he did the same to Jane, but tied her to a chair, and thank god didn't cut her up, but he told her that 'bad men' were going to come get her and do 'sex things' to her, then described in detail what those things would be, said to her that was what Eliot was doing to Sarah and that's why he wouldn't let her come home, then he turned off the heating, locked the doors and went to my father's to fight with Eliot, during the duration of the rant he spewed at Eliot in front of Sarah and my dad, he said that he knew that Eliot wanted to steal Sarah back, now that he knew about her and he and Jayda were together, Sarah is a genius, that was all she needed to know everything, so that's why or how he told her who her real parents are" Ruby tells him, hating having to tell him so much personal information.

"When did all this happen?" The deputy asks.

"A week ago, maybe ten days?" She answers "or at least that's when it started"

"And you're already engaged to someone else? Had you been cheating on Jared before this outburst?" The deputy has the lack of tact to ask her.

"NO! I NEVER cheated on Jared, he cheated on me plenty, but I'm not that kind of person, I haven't seen Jared since he tied me to the bed and cut me up, We weren't found for three days, naked in a house with no heat in mid December, it could have killed Jane. But Quinn and my father came looking for us when they hadn't heard from us, Quinn saved me, he stayed with me, looked after my wounds, stayed here every night to protect me and Jane if Jared came back, and we talked a lot, when I kissed him for the first time it was the most right I've ever felt in my life, so when he told me he loved me I had no reservations about telling him I love him too, he proposed last night, he gave me this necklace that he's worn continuously for the last six years and that has emotional meaning to him, to wear until he buys me a ring, so no I didn't cheat, but after he cut me up and tried to kill me and my daughter by hypothermia I considered us separated and had decided I was going to divorce him even before Quinn came to rescue us" she replies hotly.

"Can I see these cut 'wounds' please?" He requests, the look on his face being one of professional interest rather than anything untoward.

Ruby looks over at Bruce who has stood silently in the corner glowering at the cop's back since the questioning started, and decides it would be safe with him there, she stands up and pulls up her sweater over her breasts so he can see all the cuts from her hipster jeans waistband upwards and the cuts that are over her cleavage above her bra, then she lowers the sweater and drops her jeans to her knees, showing him the puncture wounds up her legs before saying "the worst one is across here, do you want to see that too?" Indicating where he'd carved his name over her mound.

"If you're alright with showing me, but if not that's ok because we're going to take pictures of all these wounds at the headquarters" he replies, being understanding and kinder than earlier.

So Ruby lowers the top of her panties, holding them just below the cuts that spell out Jared's name, the officer leans in a little closer, not looking just at the cuts on her mound but some of the scars of previous cuts over her belly and the remains of a bruise that covers the point of one hipbone, before leaning back and saying "thank you for showing me"

"For now just one last question, until we're at headquarters, why do you call your fiancée by his surname?" He asks her, frowning slightly.

"Oh! I call him Sean when I'm talking to him, well mostly, but when I talk about him I call him Quinn because that's the name he goes by, everyone else only calls him Quinn, a lot of his friends don't even know his first name, it's just the way he prefers it" she answers, glad that it's such a simple answer.

Just then they all hear the front door open and seconds later Quinn comes striding into the kitchen, locking eyes with Bruce and giving him a nod of thanks for looking after Ruby, who he catches up in his arms as she stands to meet him and kisses her, then tucks her head under his chin while hugging her tightly.

"What happened? Are you ok?" He asks, more worried for Ruby than he is that all this might come back on him.

"They found Jared's body in the burned out house, they want to question me about my relationship with him and about his death, like I could do that to anyone!" Ruby cries, tears starting to run down her face.

"Shhh, it's ok, you didn't do anything wrong, you said on the phone that the house burned down at lunchtime? Well me and your dad and the girls were with you until past lunchtime, so it's ok, they'll see you couldn't have done anything, do you want me to come with you?" Quinn says, reassuring her and telling her where she should say he was during the rescue of Jayda.

"No, I need you to stay here and look after Jane and the farm, everything should be ok here but just in case, I'll be fine like you said" she answers as the deputy stands up obviously wanting to leave.

Pushing Ruby a little bit back from himself so he can look into her eyes he says "if you need me for anything make them call me and I'll come, I can take Jane to your dad or sister if I need to, I'll see you soon ok?" Before drawing her in and giving her a long, slow, passionate kiss, making the deputy extremely uncomfortable, until they both pull back and smile at each other.

"I love you, Ruby" he tells her, pulling her in for one quick last hug.

"I love you too, Sean" she replies, cheek pressed against his chest.

As he loosens his hold Quinn bends down and whispers into her ear "don't forget you're not under arrest, you have the right to walk out at any time unless they arrest or charge you" then pulls back and smiles down at her, his love for her shining out of his eyes like a lighthouse at night.

He walks to the door with her and the deputy, holding her hand until the last second possible, before saying "I'll be waiting for a call to tell me what's happening ok?" As she walks down the porch steps, she turns and nods at him, smiling softly before the deputy has her get into the back of the car and they drive away, once they're out of sight Quinn hurries inside and sends a text, it goes to Diwali, Eliot, Parker and Hardison, telling them the details of what's happening and making sure they have all the evidence they might need to prove any one of them innocent, then he goes into the living room to find Jane, before going to talk to Bruce and make dinner.

He quickly finds out everything that happened and was said from Bruce, deciding he was going to double the amount he was going to be paying him for staying over to protect them, in thanks for his being so protective of Ruby and being such a good friend to them both.

Quinn decides he wants to get to know Bruce and Caleb a lot better, become real friends with them, and see if maybe Ruby could appoint Bruce as the manager of the farm for when they're not there, as he intends for them all to split their time between here and Portland, even if Portland was just when the girls were off school. Now that Quinn has everything straight in his mind he sets to work on dinner, he might not be like Eliot in the kitchen but he makes a mean coq au vin, and he intends to make enough so Bruce and Caleb can join them if they're available.

ELIOT/JAYDA/QUINN

Once they arrive at the lake house Eliot gets out of the truck and comes around to Jayda's door, opening it and leaning in to pull Jayda into his arms, so that he can carry her into the house, but she stops him.

"Eliot, you don't need to carry me everywhere, I'm ok, what about Sarah? She needs to be carried" Jayda tells him.

"Quinn's got Sarah, look" he says indicating behind her "and you do need carryin', at least for a few days, until your feet have healed some, I'm not lettin' you do anythin' that might cause any more damage to yourself, it's doctor's orders, and I'm more scared of your dad than I am of you"

As he speaks Jayda looks over her shoulder at Quinn as he lifts Sarah out of the truck and swings the door closed behind them, before looking back at Eliot with a mulish look on her face.

"I don't want to be carried at all, Eliot, I spent all that time not able to move more than a few feet, and not even that if I was stood up, I want the freedom to choose how I move, when and where to, I _need_ it" she says quietly, her eyes begging him to understand.

"How about I lift you down, you walk to the porch, I lift you up the steps and then you can walk into the house and settle on a sofa, or put up with me carryin' you up the stairs, is that acceptable?" Eliot suggests as a compromise.

Jayda smiles softly at him then allows him to lift her down from the truck and onto her feet, pausing there to kiss her with a little more passion than the last time, but not enough to make her feel threatened or pressured. They break apart smiling more fully at each other than they have since before the exchange, looking into each other's eyes, when suddenly Quinn says "isn't it a bit cold for Jayda to be standing around in the snow in her pajamas? Open the da... blo... _darn_ door!" Both of them laughing at his battle to not use inappropriate language in front of Sarah, even if she is asleep, before moving to the porch, Sarah had given Eliot his key back in the hospital, while Jayda had been talking to Eric. So she's a little surprised to see him pull it out of his shirt and open the door, but also feels a warmth light in her chest at the sight.

Eliot comes to lift Jayda up the porch steps, once the door is open and Quinn and Sarah are through it, but Jayda says to him "you might have been right, maybe you should carry me in, and upstairs might be best, I'm dyin' to have a shower or bath, I feel so _DIRTY_ , but I'll need your help, please?" Eliot looks down at her seriously "you're not supposed to bath or shower with the casts on, darlin'" he tells her "I'm sorry"

"Screw the rules, Eliot! I've been held captive for nearly a week, been covered in... in... men's _filth_ , had no access to a restroom, been covered in blood, both my own and someone else's and had vomit in my hair which I haven't been able to wash out properly, not to mention that I'm bleedin' and want to wash that away, so don't tell me I can't have at least a _shower_!" She whisper-rants at him, unable to stop herself from speaking, even as he flinches at certain things she says.

"Ok, I'll help you, but lets get everyone sorted first ok?" Eliot promises her, raising his eyebrows in question of 'is that ok?'.

Without further comment he sweeps Jayda up into his arms, glad she's so short and light, because otherwise his spine would be screwed, and carries her into the house where Quinn has sat on one of the couches, with Sarah half on his lap, wrapped in a blanket, still fast asleep.

"Hey, everything ok?" Quinn asks, tipping his head back over the sofa, so he's viewing them sideways on.

"Yeah we're fine, Jayda needs to be upstairs, so she can shower, so we're goin' to go up, is there anythin' you need for a while?" Eliot asks him, wanting to make sure they wouldn't be disturbed while Jayda was washing.

"I'm fine, I'm gonna follow Sarah's example and have a nap, I... had a disturbed nights sleep..." Quinn answers, blushing slightly.

"Rrriiiigggghhhhhtttt" Eliot replies smirking broadly "if either of you get hungry just help yourselves, to somethin' healthy, ok?"

"Yes, _dad_ " Quinn answers, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You have to set a good example now, _daddy_ " Eliot returns with just as much sarcasm, as he heads for the staircase, and all they hear from the sofa is a very quiet " _dammit_!" Making both Eliot and Jayda break into giggles the moment they're out of view.

"Well that seems to have brought that message home to him" Jayda says, as Eliot lays her down on the bed gently, still smirking.

"Yeah, he's really good with them both, actually, but I couldn't help myself" Eliot replies, sitting next to her hip, on the bed, facing her, smiling softly at her.

"Well you're a little bit awful then, but only a little bit" she says, opening her arms to him and indicating she wants a hug. He moves forwards and turns, so that he's sat next her, and wraps both arms around her snugly, making her feel warm and loved, making her feel _homelovemate_ , the first time she's felt something that could only be described in the wolf way, finally fully understanding what Eliot always meant when he used the wolf-speak, making her smile broaden.

"You doin' ok?" He asks her as he nuzzles the side of her face, making her giggle at the scratching from his now quite long stubble.

"I'm fine, just want that bath, and you need a shave" she tells him, pulling on the longest part of his stubble, the 'soul patch' area under his bottom lip, which makes him snap playfully at the tips of her fingers while she laughs.

"Ok, well, if you're determined to have the bath then I'm gonna need trash sacks and duct tape" he tells her, ignoring the incredulous look she was giving him.

"Oooh-Kaaaay, duct tape is in the basement, on the workbench in the room that is second door to the left, trash sacks are in the top kitchen drawer" she tells him, looking a little worried for his sanity.

"Right! I'll be back in a few, don't move!" He tells her as he disappears out of the room and down the staircase.

While Eliot is gone Jayda works her way out of the dressing gown, since she no longer needs it, and works the quilt so that it'll cover her lower legs, as her feet feel like they're freezing. When he returns Eliot growls softly at her and says "I said ' _don't move'_ what part of those two words did you not understand?"

"That would be the part where I was too hot and my feet were freezin', it's not like I actually moved away from where you left me, I just grabbed a blanket, from the foot of the bed, no harm done" she tells him, to which he starts grumbling under his breath as he advances on her.

"Gimme your arm" he says making hurry up hand gestures at her casted arm, she holds it out to him and he covers it in a trash bag, folding the bag in half just below her elbow so that It doesn't end up coming all the way to her shoulder, and then sealing the bag to her skin all the way around with the duct tape, making sure none of the bag is left unsealed for water to leak in through.

"When you're finished and I take these off I'll get you a washcloth to get the remainin' glue off ok?" Eliot says, smiling at her and forgetting he was angry she'd moved a little.

"Ok, gimme a leg" he says, before repeating the procedure twice more, once on each leg.

"Now stay still while I go run the bath, think you can manage that?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I was going to take my pajamas off, so that i'd be ready to go straight in" she replies, smirking back at him.

"No!" He growls quietly at her "I want that pleasure, so long as that's acceptable, I want to take these off you and have you bare in my arms" he explains, a very distinctive huskiness colouring his voice.

"Alright, I won't move" she promises, reaching out and stroking his hair down one side of his face, he turns his head so he can kiss her palm before nuzzling her hand and wrist, and then stands and goes into the bathroom.

She hears the taps start running and relaxes a little more into the soft embrace of the bed, she was finally safe, with her Mate looking after her, their daughter downstairs, being looked after by her new adoptive father, who was a good friend to her Mate and now a good partner to her sister, their friend who is also protecting herself and Eliot so they can have this healing time together, without worrying about intruders or danger, she was so lucky to have these things, things she had believed she could never have again, things she wouldn't have had again if she had given up the way she planned to. At that thought she starts to silently cry, thinking of all the things she would have missed out on, and what it would have done to Eliot and Sarah if she'd died there, she was so wrapped up in her thinking and self recriminations that she didn't hear the taps turn off, or Eliot's approach.

"Hey! No, what's wrong? Why are you cryin'?" He asks with panic in his voice as he wraps himself around her, holding her and rocking her slightly in time to his whispered words of "shh, it's ok, please don't cry baby, I'll fix it, just tell me what's wrong, ssshhhh" eventually Jayda whispers back to him "I'm sorry, I was gonna get him to kill me, I didn't want him to do the next punishment, and I thought you were dead, I didn't want to escape if you weren't here with me, I'm so sorry, please, _please_ forgive me, I'm sorry"

Hearing this Eliot pulls back from her and holds her at arms length "what was he goin' to do next? It's ok, you can tell me..." while pushing her chopped hair behind her ear.

"He was goin' to mutilate me.... he was gonna _personally_ perform full female circumcision on me, remove ALL outer genitals.... I never wanted to be with anyone but you anyway, but I just couldn't let him do that to me, that the last memories I had of sex were the things they'd done, I.... I just couldn't face it, so I was goin' to force him to kill me, somehow" she whispers into his chest, as he squeezes her tightly against himself again as he continues to make comforting noises while he strokes her back.

"I really am sorry, can you forgive me? Please?" She begs, sounding as if her heart is breaking.

"Darlin' Jayda, there's nothin' to forgive, nothin' for you to be sorry for, even if you didn't think I was dead, I hadn't come for you quick enough, and I would never ask anyone, let alone you, to undergo that kind of abuse and torture, what you'd already suffered had been too much, if it was escape or die tryin' then I would expect you to fight with all you got, and take the bastard down with you if you fell, as much as I would die at losin' you, i'd be proud you fought them when you reached your limit, so, so proud" he tells her, absolving her of her self imposed guilt and reassuring her that her plans were what he would have wanted her to do.

"C'mon honey, lets get you in that bath, whadda ya say?" He asks, thinking the hot water may help her relax as well as making her feel cleaner.

"Will you come in with me? _Please_?" She asks quietly as he lifts her from on the bed.

"You want me to?" He asks, looking down at her in his arms, waiting for an answer until she nods gently against his chest "then i'd love to, once you're settled" he tells her.

Once in the bathroom Eliot places Jayda on top of one of the huge fluffy towels he's already placed on the countertop, protecting her from the cold of the stone, once she's comfortable he steps back, smiling at her gently and then moves in front of her, coming to stand at her knees, where he rests his hands.

"Ok I need to take your pajamas bottoms off first, are you ok with me standin' between your legs?" He asks very gently.

"Yes, I trust you, I know you won't hurt me" she says, parting her knees and legs so that there is enough room for him to move right up against her, moving his hands very softly up her legs until they rest on her hips, once his hands stop moving he slowly raises his head until he's looking her in the eye, he frowns at her slightly because she's biting her lip again, but he's not going to say anything about it after what she's been through, once he's looking into her eyes he moves forwards just a little more, until the front of his jeans brush just gently against her pajamas, and although she hides it well he sees the tiny spark of fear in her eyes at his closeness, so he steps backwards again.

"What's wrong?" She says immediately, "why are you movin' away from me?" She asks, sounding both fearful and panicked.

"Because you're scared of me" he says, taking her hands and lifting them to his mouth to kiss the back of the right, he'd have kissed both, cast or not but he just didn't want to kiss a trash sack.

"NO! Eliot! I'm not scared of you! I could never be scared of you! You're my homelovemate, I love you and trust you with my life, you're what keeps me safe...." Jayda replies, tears welling in her eyes as she tries to pull him back towards her by his hands that are still holding hers.

"I didn't say you didn't trust me, sweetheart, I could see the fear in your eyes when I stepped in too close to you, I know it's not through choice, that it's more fear of pain than fear of me, but either way, I backed off to help you feel safer, it was what you _needed_ even if it wasn't what you _wanted_ " he tells her gently, refusing to be moved forwards by her.

"Please, I wasn't scared, I promise, just please come here and hold me? The only thing I'm scared of is that you'll reject me because I.... I'm.... because of what happened and I'm not good enough for you anymore" she begs, pulling at his hands again to try to make him move closer, while her eyes fill with tears before they spill down her cheeks in twin rivers of distress.

"Jay, you'll always be perfect for me! I'd _never_ reject you, I couldn't because I love you" he says before edging closer, then kissing her tears away and wrapping his arms around her shoulders, letting her rest her head on his.

After a few moments of holding her, Eliot feels her thighs tighten around his hips a little, as one of her hands slips into the back of his hair, holding him closer to her, so she can tip her head back and she can kiss his throat and jaw.

"Jay, you don't have to do this, you're still hurt, I...." Eliot begins, his voice getting hoarser with each word.

"I know that, I'm doin' what I want to do, and I know I'm still... ' _hurt_ ', but I'm ok, and you're presumin' a lot ain't ya? A kiss and a hug don't mean you're gonna get a home run!" Jayda tells him, a small smile in her voice at the end which she follows with a nip to his earlobe.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound..." Eliot starts apologising, but is cut off when Jayda pulls his head down by the handful of hair she has hold of, and kisses him thoroughly, cutting off his train of thought as well as his sentence.

After a few minutes of kissing Jayda pulls back just enough to speak "you gonna take these off me or not?"

"You ready for me to? Ok, wrap both arms around my neck tightly and do the best you can with both legs too, then I'm gonna pick you up and use one hand to get them past your hips, then I'll put you back down, I just need you to keep a really great grip on me, alright?" He instructs her, moving in as close as he can to her body while she tightens her arms around his neck, before lifting both legs to the height of his waist and then wrapping them around him, trying her best to hook them together to strengthen her hold, in this position she can't help but be able to tell that he's _hard_ , that he wants her, and she makes up her mind, that as soon as she's able she'll be with him, she needs him to wipe away the hurts that were done to her, to show her how love feels again.

Once she has a secure grip on him Eliot takes hold of her by the ass and lifts her, once she's up he removes one hand from her ass and uses it to pull that side of her pajamas down, past her ass and onto her thigh, then he realises that he's gonna have to do this again if he leaves her underwear on, so he gently peels them down her ass onto her thigh too, at which she takes a quiet, sharp breath in, he then takes hold of her with both hands again, before repeating his actions on the other side.

When he has put her back down onto the towel, and has moved his hands onto her knees again, rather than keeping hold of her bare ass, he says to her "you ok?, I had to take down your underwear too or we'd have to go through all this again"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just wasn't expectin' it is all, what now?" She answers him, putting on a small, brave, smile for him and leaning forward to kiss him softly.

"Well, how about we leave your bottoms where they are and we get your top off?" He proposes, hoping to help her calm down a little, from her discomfort at his lowering her knickers unexpectedly.

"Ok, do you want me to...?" Jayda starts before being interrupted by Eliot.

"No, like I said, I want this pleasure, so long as it's ok with you?" He asks, determined not to scare her any further.

To show him how alright with her it is Jayda snags his belt loops on his jeans with her fingertips, using them to pull him forward, back between her legs, until he was placed where she wanted him, then took hold of his hands and placed them on her hips, underneath the trailing hem of her top, against her already bare skin. Then she leans forwards again and kisses him, not softly and innocently like the last time, but deep and passionately, making him moan quietly into the kiss, his hands sliding around her back and up, towards her shoulders, taking her top with them. When they finally break for air Eliot pulls the top over her head, putting it on the counter next to her in a ball, then leans back in to kiss her again, his hands returning to her spine, running up and down it while they kiss, until they're forced to break apart again by how breathless Jayda has become.

Eliot's hands come up to cup her face, as he leans back a little from her, while she gets her breathing under control, and although he tries to maintain eye contact so she doesn't feel like he's perving on her, he can't help that when she closes her eyes and tips her head back, for a moment his eyes roam downwards, and he is amazed by what he finds.

"Jay? You need to look at this..." he tells her, his voice shaking then cracking at the end.

Jayda, thinking he's only just realised the extent of the damage to her body doesn't move her head "I've seen what I look like, I know how terrible it looks, I don't need to look again" she tells him, a little angry he seems to want to rub it in.

"No! Jayda look! You're... healin', but way faster than even I do, some of these cuts are down to silver line scars, like they're _years_ old!" Eliot tells her, grabbing her shoulders and giving her a tiny, light shake to make her listen.

"What?!" She exclaims, her eyes shooting open and her head slamming forwards, only Eliot's speed stopping him from getting a broken nose via headbutt. Jayda looks down at her own chest, most of the diamond cuts are now silvery lines that are barely visible, the cuts from her surgery, performed less than six hours before are sealed fully and healed, they're still red but there are not even any scabs there. She looks back up at Eliot, mouth open in shock "will you check my back? Please?" She asks, shuffling around on the countertop once he's moved back from standing between her legs, so he'll be able to see her back.

She feels his fingers lightly trailing over the ancient Native text down her spine, he can't read it but he knows it says something that was important to her, then he traces the tops of her gargoyle wings, and she squirms a little because it's ticklish, then she asks again "how bad is it?"

Eliot lays his hand flat in the centre of her back and slips his other hand around her waist to pull her back a little into a hug "the skin is rough to the touch, but not to the eye, there are still a few cuts that are red scars, but for the most part they're healed to silver lines, the bruise that had been right where my hand is is completely gone, and considerin' how rough your skin feels your tattoos are amazingly clear and crisp, they look brand new" he tells her, following it with "if you keep healin' this fast I think your back will be completely smooth within a week" leaving her in shock.

"I... I can't.... believe this,... it's not _possible_!" She tells him sounding highly distressed.

"Hey, c'mon, it's ok, even if you're right and it's not possible, it's happenin', you're healin' like an Alpha on steroids, your wounds are healin' to scars, which are healin' to near unmarked skin, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, because what you're gettin' is a gift"

Knowing how right Eliot is Jayda forces herself to calm down, taking deep breaths and relaxing into Eliot's hold. Eventually Jayda leans away from him and shuffles back around to facing forward, Eliot coming to stand at her knees again.

"You ok?" He asks, receiving a nod and smile from Jayda "you ready to have me take your bottoms off?" Jayda again answers with a nod, but this time her smile is a little malformed due to her biting her bottom lip nervously.

"It's ok, I'm not goin' to hurt you or make you do anythin', you're safe with me" he tells her, stroking her face and brushing her hair back out of her eyes, where it had swung when she had dipped her head forward shyly.

"I know I am, I always have been" she answers, reaching out for him and pulling him to her, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kisses him, figuring that if her body has healed this much on the outside, her insides have probably healed too, so why should she make either of them wait?

After a few minutes of kissing, kisses that got more and more passionate as they went on, Jayda takes hold of one of Eliot's hands, that were resting on her waist and put it onto the waistband of her pajama bottoms, indicating that he should take them off her. His fingers flex around the material, only hesitating because he doesn't want Jayda to feel pressured or threatened by him or his actions. Slowly he takes hold of both sides of the waistband, leaving her underwear where it is, and lowers the pajamas to her knees, which once they were past there he let go, allowing them to fall to the floor.

Eliot brings both hands back up to her back, still kissing her passionately and losing his grip on his control a little, running them along her spine until they settle on her ass, pulling her forward a little so that his body presses up against hers, the feeling of her breasts pushing up against his chest making him moan again, this time in want and frustration. As he moves his hands away from her ass and towards her waist, Jayda takes hold of them again, bringing one down to the side of her panties and the other up to one of her breasts, placing it _where_ she wants him to touch, and then manipulating his hand to show him exactly _how_ she wants touching, before putting her arms back around his neck.

He pulls back from their kiss, looking deep into her eyes "are you sure you want me to touch you like this? You don't have to do this, I can wait" he asks her as he lays his forehead against hers, whilst still looking into her eyes.

"I'm sure, this still doesn't guarantee you a home run, but I'll tell you if I want or need to stop, I promise, I love you" she tells him, helping to calm his mind and make him feel less worried about her pushing herself too far too fast.

He leans in and kisses her again, moving one hand up to hold her neck for a moment as he does, and she meets him with a hunger that matches his own, he can feel it through their Bond, how badly she wants this, he can't help wondering if this is healthy, but decides that if it's what she wants, so long as it doesn't hurt her, then she can have it, he'll never say no to showing her how much he loves her, no matter what she needs him to do to show it.

At the realisation he moves his hand back to her panties, slowly sliding them down her thighs until they are just above her knees, then pushing them down over her casts and letting them drop to the floor with her pajamas. Once they're gone he presses back in between her legs, careful to not actually press against her *there* now she's completely naked, and wraps his now free hand around the back of her neck again, adding even more passion to their kiss, he feels her move one of her arms down from around his neck, putting it around his waist, before unexpectedly pulling him up against her fully, making him nip at her tongue a little before soothing it with strokes of his own.

As they continue kissing, him fondling her breasts, she brings both hands to his waist, he thinks to hold him tight against her, but then her hands slide forwards around his waistband, until they meet at the button, which she tries to undo, but finds it's not so easy with one hand in a cast that immobilises the fingers.

"Hey, what you trying to do?" Eliot asks her, catching up her hands and leaning a little backwards to break their kiss.

"You can't tell? I'm tryin' to open your jeans" she tells him with just a tiny touch of sarcasm, rolling her eyes at him and smiling fondly, but Eliot can feel her apprehension through the Bond, can feel that she's terrified he's going to reject her.

"Well I think you're gonna have trouble with that for a while, so why don't I do that for you?" He whispers directly into her ear, before opening his jeans and letting them drop, having already removed his boots while the bath was filling, he steps out of the puddle of denim and kicks it aside, coming back in to kiss her firmly, while he unbuttons his shirt, but pausing before taking it off.

"How much do you want me to leave on?" He asks, looking into her eyes again, making sure she's ok with where they are.

"None of it, I want you in the water with me, remember?" She answers, smiling the brightest smile he'd seen from her since her rescue.

"I thought you might prefer me to keep some clothes on until I've got you in the water" he tells her, making sure she knows the option is available.

"Eliot" she says, taking hold of his face gently with both hands "I love you, I trust you, I know you would never do anythin' to hurt me, I want to be held by you while we're both bare, to kiss and touch and reconnect ourselves to each other, so long as you're ok with that, that's what I want right now" she declares, making sure he knows that she's doing what she wants to do and the reasons why.

After looking her in the eyes as she says this Eliot has no hesitation, he allows his shirt to drop off his shoulders and down on top of his jeans, pulling his undershirt off over his head and adding it to the pile, when it comes to his boxers he pauses and looks up at her "you're sure?" He asks.

"Come here" she says, beckoning him back between her legs.

"What?...." he starts before she cuts him off.

"I want this pleasure" she leans in and whispers to him, before biting his earlobe with a lengthened, sharp, tooth, as she carefully pulls his boxers away from his body and gets them down past his hips, where she lets go and lets them fall to the floor, before grabbing Eliot's waist and pulling him up against her own body, hard.

"Jay...." Eliot half moans, half sighs, at the feel of her up against his relentless erection.

"Shhh, please don't, don't ask if I'm ok, or if I'm sure, or tell me I don't have to do this, again, all I want is you" she tells him, knowing he was about to say something that would interrupt the calm, loving, atmosphere they had built. From where she is with her lips by his ear, she starts to trail kisses and sharp nips along his jaw, until she's able to reach his mouth again, then kisses him like she's starving and he's a feast.

As they kiss Eliot pulls her closer to the edge of the counter, unintentionally forcing her legs to part further to accommodate his hips, and as he presses against her, only barely aware he's doing it, and even then only in the back of his mind, he rubs against her, parting her lower lips with his cock and sliding along the length of her slit, feeling that although she is _wet_ for him it's not like before, she's not _soaked_ , until his cockhead hits her clit and she suddenly yanks him to arms length from her, eyes wide, making him stumble a little over the boxers that he's forgotten are still wrapped around his ankles.

"What?..." he begins before she cuts him off.

"You can't, not yet, I didn't realise.... I'm _sorry_!" She stutters out, sounding like it's causing her terrific pain just to say and think it.

"Hey, it's ok, I promised I wouldn't push but I did anyway, it's my fault, I'm the one who's sorry..." he replies, feeling so disgusted with himself he feels nauseous.

"No! That's not why I stopped you! I... I just... I can't let you touch me there until I've washed, I would say 'until I'm clean' but I don't think I'll _ever_ be clean again, I'm sorry I teased you! I didn't mean to push you too far..." she trails off, tears standing in her eyes as she looks at him, fearing that he might be angry with her.

"Hey, no! You didn't tease me, well no more than your presence always does, I shouldn't have pushed, I really am sorry" he apologises again, still feeling huge amounts of self loathing despite the levity in his voice

"wanna get in the bath?" He asks, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, how do you want to do this?" She asks, not really sure how they're gonna manage it and still keep her protected casts above the water.

"Easy, you ready for me to pick you up?" He makes sure, waiting for a nod before picking her up bridal style again.

Once he has a good grip and has balanced himself, Eliot walks over to the tub, sitting her on the side of it with her back facing the water, then leaning down to give her a kiss.

"I love you" he tells her before stepping into the tub himself and moving behind her, lowering himself to his knees he reaches forwards and wraps his arms around her waist.

"Ready?" He asks, again waiting for a nod before gently pulling/lifting her backwards, her head resting backwards onto his shoulder, and lowers her until her ass is resting on his knees, and her ankles are resting on the side of the tub. There's still the possibility of putting her onto the floor of the tub, but for now this is where they both want her to be, to keep her broken wrist out of the water she rests it over his shoulder and around his neck. Using it to bring him to her for a kiss, as they begin kissing more deeply again she feels his cock jump against her lower back, reminding her of his want for her, even after everything, no matter how dirty, soiled, or broken she was he _still_ wanted her!

After a few minutes of soaking in the hot water, kissing slowly but deeply, Eliot pulls back a little and says "do you wanna get washed?" Giving her a squeeze around the middle to show he's happy to just stay put if that's what she wants.

"In a little bit, I think some of these stains might need soakin' to get them out..." she answers, making him grimace slightly at the comment, but loving the fact that she is using the dry wit he'd missed hearing for so many years, part of the reason he liked Quinn when they first met was his dry humour reminded him of her.

"Your knees must be killin' you, put me on the bottom of the tub and stretch out next to me, if you sit on my left I can rest my broken arm around your shoulders to keep it out of the water..." she starts, but stops on a moan as he kisses up her neck, from the base where her Phoenix's tail feathers end, all the way up to the hairline behind her ear, nipping at the tendons in her neck occasionally as he goes, before pulling her more tightly onto his lap, nestling his cock in the cleft of her ass, but making no overt sexual demands, just holding her there while he continues to kiss and nip at her neck, seeing the way the scar from his Claiming bite had been obliterated by the damage done during her captivity.

"Jayda..." he starts, before having to stop and try clearing his throat, as his voice had a distinct edge of _growl_ to it "Jayda-Mate, can I Claim you again? I don't want to hurt you, but the bite scar is gone..." he explains, his voice getting rougher and more gravelly as he speaks. As he waits for an answer he brings one hand up and uses it to turn her head so that he can kiss her mouth, moaning as she opens her lips for his tongue, starting a slow gliding thrust up against her ass, sliding along her ass crack in a slow rhythm that matches their kisses. Until she whispers to him "yes, but, not here, not like this, in bed, once you Claim my body again"

"I don't have to...." he starts, about to tell her he doesn't need to have sex with her to Claim her again, when she speaks over him.

"I know, but that's what I want, and I'll be expectin' it this time, so you won't get shouted at or threatened" she says with a smirk on her lips, that he quickly kisses away with a little playful growl, but during all of this his movements haven't stopped or even paused, as he gives her a reassuring squeeze he inadvertently lifts her a little with his hug, which causes the head of his cock to catch on the rim of her asshole as he moves, making her yelp and try to scramble away from him, wide eyed and _reeking_ of terror, lashing out with her casted arm, catching Eliot on the point of the jaw just under his ear, making his head ring like a gong (or that's how it sounded to him at least) and his vision go blurry, while she screams from the pain of the sudden impact to her shattered wrist, it brings her back out of the sudden flashback and into the bathroom at home, where a stunned Eliot still has a loose grip on her, making sure she doesn't hurt herself or soak her casts, even while suffering the after effects of the blow to the head.

"Oh my god! Eliot!! Are you alright?" She asks, while holding her broken wrist to her chest, worried she's really hurt him.

"'M alright, just my head ringin', and I'm wondering which one of you is my Mate?" Eliot answers a little fuzzily, his eyes still rolling a little and having trouble settling or focusing on anything, not being helped by seeing double.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I... it's just.... when I felt _that_... _unexpectedly,... there_... I just flashed back to... to when...." Jayda says, but she's unable to finish her explanation as she burst into tears.

"Hey, hey now, don't cry baby, you're ok, you're safe now and we'll be together, shhh..." Eliot murmurs, not exactly fully aware of what's happening, but aware enough to know his Mate is crying, and his Mate should never feel the need to cry, pulling her gently back into his arms properly, stroking her hair and face until she calms down a little.

By the time she's stopped crying she's quietly repeating over and over again "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm so _so_ sorry, please forgive me...." but at least Eliot has pulled himself together enough to understand what happened, and is trying to quiet her and then tells her "it's ok, I'm alright, I'm sorry..." finally he seems to get through to her enough that she stops speaking, and he's able to apologise properly for scaring her, saying "Jay, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to catch against you and give you a flashback, I should have been more careful with you, I'm sorry, do you want to talk about what happened?" To which he gets a violent shake of the head in reply.

"Jay, I don't think you're ready for us to be this close, it's too soon after everything that happened..." he starts, thinking that a little distance between them might help her more.

"No! Please El, the only time I've felt safe since all this started has been when I'm in your arms, don't make me be alone! _Please_!" She begs him, sounding panicked, trying to turn to face him, but not being able to manage it, because Eliot is holding tight to her to keep her still on his lap, causing them to rub together as she squirms in his grip, making his eyes roll back as he bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself under control.

"Hey! Stop! I'll stay with you, don't worry, I just don't think you're ready to be naked or intimate together yet is all, okay? Apart from anythin' else I don't think either of us want to feel you hit me with your cast again, is your wrist ok?" He asks, his concern for her when she just clobbered him making tears stand in her eyes again.

"It's ok" she says resting her head back onto his shoulder "it's really throbbin' but I don't think I damaged it further, I think it's just remindin' me to be careful" as she finishes she tips her head towards his and kisses his ear gently "I _am_ sorry I hurt you..." she whispers, wrapping her arms over his where they rest around her ribs, cuddling them.

"Me too" he whispers back, squeezing her gently before asking "wanna wash now?" To which he gets an emphatic nod "ok, here's your body wash and a cloth, you ok to do this yourself?" He asks as he hands her what she needs.

"Will you do my back?" She asks, sounding like she expects him to say no.

"I'd be honoured, my Mate" he answers, adding a little _growl_ to his voice, before kissing her neck gently.

After washing as much of herself as she can one handed, she passes the washcloth over her shoulder to Eliot, who takes it and not only washes her back, but gives her a massage, unknotting all the muscles down her spine and neck from sleeping on a cold, hard, concrete floor and helping her to relax from the hypervigilance she's been living under for the past week.

Once he's done he leans her back a little more and washes her hair, it doesn't seem intimidating now it's shorter, and he gently washes away all the tiny traces of blood left over, off her face and neck, taking special care around her hairline, by the time he's done Jayda has all the strength of a limp noodle, which makes him smile a little at the thought.

Eliot rearranges them so that he can get a good grip on her and stands up, her arms around his neck, and very carefully steps out of the tub, taking Jayda over to the towel she was sat on before the bath, and setting her down on it, then picking up the ends and wrapping it around her waist, picking up one of the two next to it, wrapping that one around his own waist, before taking the last one and wrapping that around her shoulders, using it to dry her arms, shoulders and back.

"You warm enough?" He asks as he dries around her ribs and across her belly gently, making sure not to rub over any of the scars from her surgery.

"A hug would be nice and warmin'" she hints, opening her arms for him to lean in and cuddle her.

"You want your pajamas back on?" He asks, not expecting the venom in her answer.

"Burn them, they've been soiled beyond being cleansed after I wore them before bathin'" she tells him, her voice like ice cold steel.

"Ok, let me get this duct tape off, so I can scrub the glue off you and then we'll go through and I'll find you somethin' to sleep in" he says, bending over the bath to get the washcloth to help him get the glue residue off her.

After a lot of swearing by Jayda as Eliot pulls off the duct tape, and about ten minutes of scrubbing at her skin where it has been, while Jayda dries her hair, they're finally finished, they both finish drying themselves, and then Eliot opens the drain in the tub, when he turns back to her he asks "are you sure you don't want anythin' to wear before we go back through?" Still sounding nervous to her, over what had happened in the bath.

"I'm sure, c'mere baby" she answers, opening her arms to him again, and he steps into her embrace, but by standing to one side of her knees rather than between them.

"El? What's wrong? Why aren't you cuddlin' me like you were before?" She asks, upset, thinking he's mad at her over her hitting him.

"I just don't want to scare you again is all, you're obviously not ready to be physically close yet, and that's ok! I just don't want to make you feel pushed into doin' what you're not quite ready for yet" he tells her, trying to be reassuring and supportive, but this isn't an area he has any real experience in so he's kinda flying blind.

"But I want to be close to you! I want you to Claim me again, show me that I'm not too tainted by what happened, that my Alpha still wants me as his Mate, not to mention I want somethin' good to dream about tonight, somethin' to overwrite the bad memories..." she tells him, moving him gently without his noticing, while she talks to him, until he's positioned between her knees, where she wants him, and kissing him slowly but passionately once she finishes, pulling him tighter to her with her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.

After just a minute or two of kissing like this Eliot loses his inner fight with his wolf, he's wanted to reClaim her since the moment he saw her in that basement, and now, knowing it's what she wants too he can't stop it from happening. He lifts Jayda, with a tight grip on her ass, and walks to the door to the bedroom, which he'd closed, still kissing her he pushes her up against the door, not having a hand free to open it he just leans against her, kissing her more aggressively, and starts rubbing up against her, his dick grazing her clit, and nudging at the ring through it, as his length slides just between the beginning of the gap between her lower lips, making her moan into the kiss, and dig the nails of her right hand into the back of his neck, making him growl.

"Here?" She asks him breathlessly between kisses, nipping at his lip while waiting for his answer, making him growl again.

"Is that what you want?" He asks, his voice a deep rumble she can feel in her chest.

"Yes! I... oh, we need to... to wait a second..." she says, starting out sounding excited and demanding, but then her voice suddenly goes cold and toneless again.

"What's wrong?" He asks, pulling his head back so he can look her in the face.

"We.... we have to use protection.... they.... the.. men.. they didn't... I don't know what they... they might have given... me.... so it's... it's not safe... for us..." she stutters and stammers out, her cold toneless voice cracking and shattering until she's crying again, the tears rolling down her face silently as her cheeks burn with shame.

"Hey, it's ok, don't you know? Were's can't catch STI's, our immune systems are too strong for them to survive, and you're one of us now, you can't catch anythin' like that, no matter what any of them had, it's ok, I promise" he tells her, nuzzling first her face, and then her neck, doing his best to convey a cuddle with his hands unavailable.

"You're sure?" She asks, looking at him with wide eyes, the violet looking more like blue through her tears.

"Yes, I wouldn't lie to you, ever, for anythin' and I definitely wouldn't risk your health" he tells her with a small reassuring smile, before kissing her again, starting out slow and gentle, but being led into a harsher more passionate rhythm almost immediately.

As Eliot kisses her he shifts her weight upwards a little against the door, getting a better grip on her by moving his hands more towards her thighs than her ass, with being higher it puts her in a perfect position for him to enter her, but he has to check again, he just _has_ to be sure, so he drags his mouth away to the side and whispers "are you SURE this is what you want? That I'm not gonna hurt you or scare you? Be honest, if you're even just a little unsure, now or not?"

"Eliot, so long as we end up in the bed, with your teeth in my neck, then I don't care where we start, and yes I'm sure, if you have any doubt just feel how wet for you I am" she whispers back, squeezing him with all her limbs while she starts kissing him voraciously again.

Taking her advice he tilts his hips, making his cock slide along the length of her slit, she's damp around her clit, just a little wetness to ease the way, but as he moves closer to her entrance she gets wetter, until at her opening she's _soaked_ , she's producing so much natural lubricant it's almost dripping out of her, she's showing every sign of being desperate for him, in fact if he didn't know better he'd say she was in heat, but he knows her body won't have adjusted to that yet, and anyway she'll go into heat when he's in rut, and he knows he definitely isn't in rut.

But she's told him this is what she wants, her body is saying this is what she wants, and it's what he wants, so he stops worrying so much and slides himself over her entrance, backwards and forwards, rubbing over the rim of her hole, teasing her with his head before nudging against her opening, testing that her body will accept him, when he meets no resistance he pushes in further, going slowly both to check she's ok and to tease her, remembering how she'd accused him of teasing her before when he did this.

By the time he's about a third of the way in Jayda's moaning into their kiss, scratching at the back of his neck and shoulders with her undamaged right hand, sometimes digging her nails in, hard, which elicits growls from him, and then he pulls back from their kiss to nip at her lips, jaw and neck, which in turn makes her moan louder and tighten slightly around the head of his cock.

"El, you are a fuckin' TEASE! Will you _please_ do this the right way?" Jayda growls into his ear, while he nips at her neck and thrusts gently and shallowly into her, making him chuckle.

"This IS how I do it the right way, remember what I said? It ain't a race, take your time and enjoy it as much as possible" he answers into her neck, lightly running his tongue up along the tendon that runs up the side, allowing his thrusts to go deeper into her, his head rubbing over her g-spot while his pelvis and length rub at her clit, making her start gasping her breaths in as well as moan, tipping her head back and closing her eyes, just enjoying the feeling of rightness being with Eliot lit in her chest.

As she tips her head back against the door, Eliot dips his head to her breasts, kissing and licking at them, before taking her unpierced nipple between his teeth, sucking, licking, nipping and nibbling at it, making her move against him and the door, trying to somehow take control of the movements between them, trying to get him in deeper, harder and faster, wanting more stimulation than the slow, partial entry she's getting.

After a few moments of her frustratedly trying to do this he starts quietly laughing, pulling her tighter against his chest as he finally gives in and enters her all the way, but instead of the moan or groan he was expecting he gets a yelp.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you? Are you too sore?" He asks in a panic that he's hurt her by not making her wait a few days to heal first.

"No! Oh, don't worry! You just caught one of my rings down there and yanked it a little, because it was unexpected I yelped, I'm sorry!" She tells him, reaching down under her own leg to pull the piercing out of the way of his cock, so they can continue without causing her harm.

"You're sure that's all it was?" He asks, still inside her but holding still until he knows she's definitely unhurt.

"I'm sure, now wasn't I about to get what I really wanted?" She hints before kissing him again, hard.

"Yeah, I think you were" Eliot replies on a gasp as he shifts his grip slightly to move her a little further up the door before taking his time to perform a slow, sliding thrust into her, this time getting the moan he wants as her eyes flicker closed again.

"Hey, look at me, don't close your eyes, let me know it's _me_ you're with..." he asks softly, still sliding slowly and gently in and out of her, making her moan quietly again, before kissing her so gently it makes her want to cry, but this time not in fear or disgust or pain, but because this beautiful man loves her, even with everything that has happened, that can never be washed away, he _still_ loves her like the most precious thing in the world, and she doesn't deserve it.

She opens her eyes like he asks, staring into his blue eyes with their rings of gold surrounding them, and brings her head forward to lean on his shoulder, it would give her access to his neck if she wanted to nip or bite it, but that's not what she wants, instead she takes a deep breath of him, his scent, for the first time with her new sense of smell, memorising the scent that would forever be _home_ and _safe_ and _love_. And now she can't keep the tears from standing in her eyes, so to avoid letting him see and think the wrong thing, she starts to kiss his neck, nipping a little, sometimes sucking a small lovebite onto him, _loving_ the taste of his skin.

"You can bite me you know, if you wanna..." he tells her, speeding up his thrusts a little but not moving any harder, still being so gentle with her.

"Not yet, but I might take you up on the offer later" she pretty much purrs into his ear, nipping at the lobe as all the hair on his neck tries to stand up at once, her voice just sounding like pure, honeyed, sex.

He nips at her collarbone, desperate to show her how turned on he is but also wanting to take his time, and he doesn't want to hurt her either, after all he has no idea how healed she is inside, and he _won't_ hurt her, she's been hurt enough by him, or because of him, he's determined, nothing else he does will _ever_ hurt her again. As he thinks this he feels her tightening down on him repeatedly, stroking him inside her with a faster rhythm than he was using on her, he pulls back from her a little and looks into her eyes, but what he sees is not what he expects, instead of the violet eyes he's dreamt of for a decade, her eyes are such a pale blue they look white, with a ring of gold around each iris, matching his.

"Your eyes... they're different, white blue with gold rings, they're _beautiful_..." he tells her, dipping forward to kiss her again before saying "are you tryin' to give me a message, by the way?"

"Yes, I'm tellin' you to go faster, and harder too. As for my eyes, I didn't know they did that, but I'm glad you like it..." Jayda answers, blushing lightly, before pulling him forward into another kiss, this one more passionate than gentle, once she gets her way.

"You want faster and harder we're goin' to have to move, ok?" He asks her, already getting a better grip on her ready to carry her to the bed.

"Ok" she answers breathlessly, his long slow thrusts still getting her excited, even if it's not what she really wants.

Eliot lifts her away from the door, and she reaches out with her unbroken hand to grab the handle and twist it, pulling it towards them to open it, Eliot shoulders it further open and steps through into the bedroom, but he can feel his grip beginning to slip on one leg, he knows they won't make it to the bed without at least one of them getting hurt, so he takes her to the empty chest of drawers that is right outside the bathroom door, perching the edge of her ass against it before moving his hands up onto her hips and then her waist, all the while still making love to her, but with their change in location, Eliot is able to touch her body, spend time caressing her and making her feel loved.

Eliot strokes one finger along one of the diamond cuts on her upper abdomen, marvelling at how healed it already is until she grabs his hand, and looking into his eyes says "please, _don't_ ". As he looks back into her eyes he sees the pain she's trying to bury and understands "sorry" he says, gently laying her down across the top of the chest until she's laid flat, apart from her legs that are still wrapped firmly around his waist, he leans down over her, licks a stripe up the middle of her abs, moves across to her unpierced nipple, licking and sucking at it, while playing with the other, squeezing and pinching it, and his thrusts become a little less gentle, more firm and precise. He takes hold of her hands, bringing them up to just above her head and holding them crossed there with one hand, but only lightly holding them, so she knows she can escape, and trails his mouth from her nipple up to her neck. She can feel his teeth have lengthened a little but they're not ready to be used for a bite, just nibbling, so she's not surprised when he starts to nip up and down the length of the tendon in her neck, and every time his teeth nip at her she bucks up against him, arching and moaning, squeezing down on him, leaving no doubt that she is enjoying it.

"Mmmm... oh Eliot! Please.... please.... Eliot" she moans, sounding debauched and sexy as hell.

"What do you need?" He pants out, then leans in to thoroughly kiss her, delaying her reply by a few minutes.

"Touch me... the ring..." she tells him gasping, her face full of colour and her eyes piercing into him.

Eliot trails his right hand down her side until he reaches her hip, then slides it across her thigh to bring his thumb against her clit, just an inch above where his straining cock is still sliding into her, faster now and less precise, less gentle, but it seems to be what she wants. He uses his thumb to rub over her clit a few times, he knows she's already been getting stimulation from his pelvis rubbing against her, but he also knows what he's doing now is much, much stronger, she moans, loudly, at the rubbing of his thumb, but he knows what she really wants, he uses his thumb to flick the small ring up between his finger and thumb, ever so gently pulling it out, away from her body, until there is just the slightest bit of tension on it, making her gasp in tiny little hiccups of air, before moaning disappointedly when he stops pulling, begging with her eyes for him to use the ring to pleasure her more.

He leans down and kisses her again, harsh and dirty, expressing how turned on he is, how much he wants her, but doesn't pull the ring again, this time he twists it, so he's essentially twisting her clit like he does to her nipples, and she groans, deep in her chest, almost like a growl but not quite, and when he hears it he does growl in reply, and pulls the ring, still gently, but firmly, making her shout his name as she tightens down, not hitting her orgasm yet, but on the edge, and he smiles at her, that wolf-smile that always makes her think she's little red riding hood and he's the Big Bad Wolf.

"Do you want more? Hhmmm? I can't hear you...." he teases, holding the ring perfectly still while giving a few quick thrusts into her.

"Oh! Ohhh yes! I said YES! You bastard!" She shouts, and just as she finishes speaking he both jerks and twists the ring at the same time, while again adding some fast thrusts.

"Oh! ELIOT!" She screams, clamping down on him, forcibly stilling his thrusts while she gushes over him, soaking his dick, balls and thighs with her cum.

He's half-laid on top of her, kissing her passionately while moving slowly inside her, when the door is kicked open and Quinn is stood there with his gun drawn.

"Ok, this is not what I thought it was...." he says, blushing furiously,.... but not looking away, she notices, but then again Eliot hasn't stopped moving either...

"Quinn?" Eliot growls, detecting Quinn's eyes dilating even from across the room.

"Yeah?" He replies distractedly.

"Are you lookin' for examples for what to do to Ruby? or are you just enjoyin' the view?" Eliot asks deadpan, while discretely brushing Jayda's clit (with the hand away from Quinn) to cause her to cry out again, making Quinn's eyes go comically wide as he grows even redder.

"No! I... I don't need...." Quinn stammers out before Eliot has mercy on him.

"Then Ignore anythin' else you hear AND CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR!" Eliot yells at him before going back to kissing Jayda. They both hear the door slam and the hurried steps that get halfway down the stairs before stopping for a moment, and then slowly and quietly sneak back up and into the shower bathroom.

"Oh god! He isn't gonna....?" Jayda whispers to Eliot, barely holding in her laughter.

"Yeah he is, better give him a good show" Eliot whispers back, putting his hand over her mouth when she starts to laugh. To stop her laughter Eliot rubs over her hypersensitive clit again, making her gasp against his hand instead, her eyes rolling back in her head as he removes his hand from her mouth and continues to rub her clit, making her moan.

"You ready to go to bed now?" He asks, getting a wide-eyed nod in return, he smiles down at her and stops tormenting her clit, pulling her up into a sitting position again, before grabbing the backs of her thighs as high up as he can get his hands, once her arms are wrapped around his neck tightly he lifts her, taking the time to give some slow, rolling thrusts into her, making her moan into his ear again, sending a shiver down his spine.

Looking over her shoulder at the mussed up bed he gets an idea and slowly pulls out of her, making her whine in disapproval. But he just nips at her neck, licking and kissing along the length of the tendon as he walks towards the foot of the bed. When his knees brush the edge of the bedding he stops moving, and brings his kisses up her neck to her mouth, kissing her ferociously before nipping her lip and throwing her into the middle of the bed.

"Hey!" She yells, laughter in her voice, but also a touch of fear, making him feel a little guilty, because he knows she doesn't like being picked up and fears being dropped.

"Forgive me?" He asks, his voice more wolf growl than words as he starts crawling up the bed to her, his teeth extending and his eyes turning almost fully gold, she smiles at him as he crawls over her, her teeth extending in response to him, and her eyes becoming more gold than they had ever been before, he licks up the centre of her abs again, from one surgery scar just above her navel to another just below the centre of her cleavage, then runs his tongue to her nipple, grazing it with his teeth, and making her arch up against him, her knees coming up on either side of him, her mound rubbing against his flat, muscular stomach. After nipping at both her nipples for a short time, making them red, swollen and sensitive, he carries on up her neck until he's licking at her ear, panting against her neck as he rubs his cock between her lips, sliding over her clit, pulling the ring adorning it backwards and forwards gently, making her _purr_ in her chest, something she didn't know she could do.

"On your knees" Eliot growls into her ear, putting the full force of the Alpha into his voice, meaning she couldn't refuse even if she wants to, now she's a wolf too, at least partly, but luckily she has no wish to refuse, all she wants is to please her Alpha-Mate. So as he pulls back from her, giving her room to move she wriggles and flips herself over, and then works herself onto her knees and elbows, Eliot's hands coming to rest on her hips, just at the top of her ass, as she kneels there his hands glide down over her ass and onto the top of her thighs, where he uses his gentle hold to make her part her legs further, and then lean her shoulders down more, making her ass rise in the air, presenting for her Mate, for a moment Jayda flashes back to the night of the storm, but then she feels something completely new, Eliot is sat behind her, licking at her clit, her inner lips and her hole, rubbing the sharpened point of one of his teeth over her clit, oh so feather lightly, making her moan long, low and loud, as he drives his tongue up into her to finally get a full, proper taste of her, making her squirm as he then sucks her clit hard, before slowly trapping it between his teeth, _grinding_ it backwards and forwards gently, her moan escalating up into a squeal as she gets more sensitive, in a moment of quiet between them Jayda realises that she can hear panting coming through the wall from the bathroom, and smirks to herself before Eliot bites her clit, piercing it with his fang and using it to pull on the nub gently, making her shout out again.

"YES! Eliot! Oh god, there right there!" She yelps as she climaxes again, Eliot choosing that moment to slide two fingers into her, stroking her g-spot and making her orgasm last longer and be more intense, leaving her shuddering and unstable on the bed, only his hand on her hip stopping her from tipping over sideways.

He slowly retracts his fang from her clit, giving it a quick lick and a gentle suck in apology, and begins kissing a trail up over her ass, onto her tailbone and then up her spine, kissing each vertebrae as he moves up her, until he reaches the base of her skull, kissing around her neck to under her ear, by which time he has pulled her up on to just her knees, holding her by her elbows pulled back behind her, hanging forwards almost limply from his grip on her elbows in the aftermath of her second orgasm. He leans back a little, both to counter-balance her and to watch his cock slide along her asscrack a few times, the purple head coming bulging from between her cheeks at the height of each thrust. Then he cants his hips so that he slides along her slit instead, wetting himself with her cum that is completely covering her sex and inner thighs, feeling so hot and good on his sensitive flesh, wanting to bury himself inside of her again, but not yet, not until she's coherent enough to really _feel_ it when he does, he wants to hear her _beg_ him for it, and he knows she will, because she wants to be Claimed again, and he wants to Claim her, the need even stronger knowing Quinn is listening, wanting him to hear her screaming in pleasure as she pledges herself to him, her Alpha, forever.

Eliot aims his next thrust at her abused clit, hitting it dead on and making her howl out in response to the stimulation on such a sensitive area, his next thrust just slides over the top of it, setting the weighted ball closing the ring that passes through it swinging, making her keen through her pants as she tries to catch her breath. He changes the angle of his hips then, making his cock prod at her entrance or rub over it with every twitch of his hips, finally making her beg.

"Eliot! Don't tease!" She gasps out breathlessly, lifting her head a little " _please_ , Alpha, need you, need you to Claim me, need you to show me you still want me for yourself!" She cries out, tears in her voice, making him even more determined to make this perfect for her, or as perfect as he can make it anyway. He slides his cock along her slit one last time and then works just the head inside of her, making her keen even louder than before.

"PLEASE! Please Eliot! I... I can't... OOOOHHH...." she cries out as he pushes further in, her channel feeling tighter than it ever has before, which makes him pause, worrying that she might not want this or might not be enjoying it anymore, but before he can ask her she slams herself back onto his cock, engulfing him fully and tightening down on him, squeezing him tightly, rhythmically, while moving backwards and forwards along his length, dragging him forwards towards his climax way faster than he wants to get there, both of them moaning at the sensations she's causing.

"Jay, stop!" He gasps out, letting go of her elbows and wrapping both arms around her tightly, holding her in place so she can't thrust onto him anymore "this ain't a race, stop tryin' to hurry me to the end, it'll be better for us both if you let me get us there in my own time, we can do quick and dirty whenever you like, just not right now, ok?" He whispers into her ear, just as breathless as she is.

" _Please_..." she whines, so desperate that she can barely form words anymore, trying to rock her hips forwards and back, attempting to get stimulation, any stimulation, from him.

He brings one hand up to her neck, gripping the front of her throat with his thumb under one side of her jaw and his fingers under the other, his other arm still holding her tightly to him, like a band of steel around her ribs. Using the hand on her throat he tips her head right back, until it's resting on his shoulder and kisses the hinge of her jaw, then trails down her neck, biting more than kissing as he starts to rock his hips against her ass again, torturously slowly sliding in and out of her, the hand around her ribs keeping hold of her, but coming up to play with her pierced nipple, squeezing and plucking at it, before moving on to twisting and nipping it, making her moan loudly.

"You like that darlin'? What is it you like best? My playin' with your nipple? No? What about holdin' and bitin' at your neck?.... still no? Well how about my iron hard cock takin' you and makin' you mine, forever? Is that what you like best?" Eliot says into her ear, taking her shakes and final nod of the head as answers, before licking up the length of her neck after the last question, then forcing her head to the side with his grip on her throat, using the extra space to dip his head in further and bite her harder, not like a Claiming bite, but hard enough to be sore once he lets go. At the feeling of his teeth on her so tightly she finally goes still, allowing him to loosen his grip around her, letting him thrust into her fully, but slowly, long gliding slides into her followed by grinding into her, rubbing her g-spot, as he needs to calm down a little but doesn't want her to, he wants to keep her close to the edge, tease her for trying to hurry him, even though teasing her was torture for him, knowing how desperate she was, not giving in to her was so hard!

"C'mon darlin', I know you're close, tell me what you need.... explicitly and loudly" he commands her, whispering the last three words into her ear before biting the shell of it.

"Aaahhhh!!" She shouts out at the bite, the shout made longer by his moving the hand that's been tormenting her nipple downwards, until he can catch the ring through her clitoris and gently twist it, making her shake as she curls forwards, before being pulled back upright by his hand still around her throat "Alpha! Need you! Ne... need you to f.... fuck me so har... hard I'll be feelin' it f.. for _days_! Want you to kn... knot me and keep me tied to you for h... hours, just cummin' and cummin' ins.. inside of me, make me p... pre... pregnant again, fill me with pu.. pups, I'll be a g... good m.. mot.. mother, I swear! _Please,_ Alpha, Claim me!" She begs, speaking loudly as she can whilst stuttering and gasping through her request, some stutters caused by what he's doing to her clit ring and neck, some for more emotional reasons.

"That's what you want? for me to fuck you until I ruin you for everybody else? Knock you up, make you heavy with our children?" He asks, pulling on her ring and licking her ear as he talks.

"YES! PLEASE ALPHA, PLEASE ELIOT, PLEASE!!!" She screams out, willing to do or say anything to make him move faster and harder.

He uses his grip on her neck to pull her back tight up against his front before hissing in her ear "as you wish" and suddenly changing the speed and rhythm of his movements, holding her against him while ramming into her as strongly and quickly as he can in this position without hurting her, biting at her all along her shoulders and neck, making her moan in relief and pleasure.

"I'm not in rut, I can't knot you" he whispers into her ear regretfully between pants as he moves "but I wish I could" he adds, before shifting his grip from the front of her throat to the back of her neck, gripping her hip with his other hand, he forces her to lean down until she's resting on her hands, making them both better balanced and more stable, and allowing him to go even faster and harder, sliding his hand down to between her shoulder blades, but remembering the bruise she'd had there, decides to move it and slides it further down her back until he's gripping both hips.

She's panting and whining, moving back to meet him on every thrust, suddenly her hand comes up and reaches towards him, forcing her to lean further forward onto the elbow of her broken arm, her hand coming to grip the side of his ass/hip and pull him towards her even harder, making him let out a rumbling, growling, moan, unlike any noise he's ever made before, and he's getting so close to the edge, he's got to get her to cum first, he can't let her down by not getting her off. As he's thinking this he reaches under her again, ensnaring her clit ring and pulling it gently, making her switch from whining to moaning and squeaking between gasps for breath. Feeling her tighten down on him from the sensations he's giving her, he's shocked to feel the beginning tingling, burning feeling of his knot starting to form, he's never, ever had his knot even threaten to expand outside of rut before, and he's unprepared for it, but it's a little too late to stop now.

He pulls on her clit ring again, and she _howls_ wordlessly, in a way that all adult were's will know the meaning of, pushing him closer to the edge, his wolf preening that he makes his Mate feel so good she howls like that, announcing to all other were's that she is being Mated and loves it, he passingly wonders if she knows that's what she's saying, before she tightens down on him strongly, moaning loudly and breathlessly when she feels his knot expanding inside of her, with one last pull on her ring Eliot lets go of it and kneels up straight behind her, still thrusting into her strongly, if a little more erratically than he was before, catching on her rim as he swells to the point where he can't leave her body any longer, being forced to switch to grinding against her, his balls grinding against her clit where it protrudes from between her pussy lips while she's at this angle.

Her moans turn to stuttered breaths, a squeal rising in her throat as he finally fully expands, rubbing at all the right places inside of her while his balls massage her clit, bringing her right to the peak but not quite tipping her over, he's desperate to cum, he's holding on trying to hold it back because she hasn't yet, but now his knot is fully expanded it's almost impossible to hold back, so he reaches forwards and grips her throat again, just like before, his thumb under one side and his fingers along the other, using his hold to pull her upright against him again, making her whine as the stimulation to her clit is taken away, even as his knot pulls at her rim, giving her a different kind of sensation and he reaches to tug on her clit ring from the front.

"Ooh, aaahhhhh, please! Please, _need_ you! Please, Claim me! I can't...." she sobs out, overstimulated and unable to find completion, desperate.

"Yes! Jayda-Mate, MINE!" He growl-shouts, pulling her head to one side forcefully, sinking his almost fully extended teeth deep into the join between her shoulder and neck, Jayda screaming out "YES!" In reply, as the bite makes her tip over the edge into an ecstasy she never knew was possible, her muscles clamping down hard on Eliot's knot, forcing him over the edge, his cum pouring out of him in a scalding torrent as his knot contracts, and he spurts inside of her, over and over again, feeling her orgasm rushing through her through the Bond, while letting her feel how good it feels for him, the two of them forming a kind of feedback loop through the Bond, riding both each other's highs as well as echoes of their own, through the other's side of the Bond.

After a few minutes the echoes have diminished enough that they're aware of themselves and each other again, and also of Quinn who is moaning quietly in the bathroom, obviously just finished pleasuring himself, but not ready to go back downstairs yet, Eliot removes his teeth from her throat, sucking and licking over the bite, apologising to her newborn inner wolf for hurting her, when Jayda twists her head enough to see Eliot as best she can and smirks, "wanna embarrass him?" She asks, knowing that he's listening to Quinn too, feeling his amusement through their wide open Bond, "oh hell yeah!" He whispers, an answering smirk on his lips.

"HOPE IT WAS GOOD FOR YOU TOO QUINN!" She shouts, them both hearing him curse in a whisper and scrabble at the door lock to get out of the bathroom as quickly as he can, both Jayda and Eliot cracking up in laughter, Eliot holding her tightly to keep them both upright while they shake with mirth. Once they've calmed down Eliot licks over her bite again before saying "darlin' this has sealed over already, no way you should be healin' so fast" sounding both worried and wondering over it.

"Like you said before, maybe it's the transfusion? Maybe it's just boosted my healin' up the wazoo" she suggests with a shrug, before adding "it'd explain why my whole body is itchy, I feel like I want to just scratch all my skin off, guess it's just healin' itches body-wide" she surmises, smiling slyly before squeezing down on his knot that's still tightly lodged inside of her.

"Aaahhhh!" He yells out "oh god that's intense, if you keep doin' that we'll be here all night" he warns her, thinking about what she'd said about wanting to stay locked together for hours.

He takes the chance he has and manoeuvres them down onto their sides, laying comfortably, with him moulded along her back, holding her tightly and kissing her neck and shoulders, stroking her hair and whispering to her. "You know I love you, right? But we can't stay locked together for hours, not right now, I need to go cook for us all, and you need some sleep, then we need to spend some time with Sarah before she's gotta go home, since Ruby said she can't stay, I've got to find a chance to have a quiet word to Quinn about non-consensual voyeurism and I need to call your dad to come sit with you for a few hours tomorrow evenin'"

"Of course I know you love me, I love you too, more than anythin', Why does my dad need to come over though?" She answers, wondering what Eliot is talking about.

"He needs to be here in case you need anythin', because I've gotta go out runnin' for a few hours, tomorrow is the full moon, I'll see if it's ok for me to take Sarah with me too, and we need to talk to him about everythin' were-related when I get back" he explains, his choice making a lot more sense now.

"El, what's the date?" She asks, wondering how close it is to the anniversary of their one night in Moscow.

"It's the fourteenth of December, why?" He asks, realising that he needs to go shopping in the morning.

"I just wanted to make sure, I wasn't sure how long he held me there, as there were no windows or other indicators" she tells him, glad that she hasn't missed the anniversary of their first night together, the 21st December, as she has something special planned, but she'll have to get help from Parker or maybe Quinn to set it up. She smiles to herself as she lays there, resisting the urge to tighten on him as much as she can, because he said he didn't want to be stuck tied to her all day, but a little of the aftershock squeeze happens anyway, making him shudder and hold her tighter for a minute, kissing up and down her neck before biting further along her shoulder, just with his human teeth, and growling " _mine_!" As he gives a few abortive little thrusts into her.

"Mmmm Eliot..." she moans quietly, loving the feeling of him moving inside of her, if only a little, while he cums again "do we _have_ to stop?" She asks with a whine in her voice.

"For now yeah, but I promise, the next time I knot you you can keep us both cummin' for hours, alright?" He answers, feeling bad he has to deny her anything.

"I'll hold you to that" she tells him, wriggling a little, but doing her best not to squeeze him.

"Eliot? What was that, when we were cummin'? I would swear I could feel what you were feelin', both the emotional and the physical, it was... intense" she asks, confused by it but liking it all the same.

"That was our Bond darlin', you see ours is special, unique, completely unlike any other were's, we can feel each other's emotions, sometimes feel the sensations the other can, touch, taste, hearin', smell and very rarely even sight, while you've been gone I've felt some of the things you were going through, like durin' the storm or when you rebroke your wrist. Only the True Alpha and his fully Claimed Mate ever have this ability, it can seem almost like a psychic or telepathic link to others, sometimes even to those who have the ability, once they have time to learn to translate the information they receive. Have you felt anythin' like that since I Claimed you?" Eliot explains, giving her the quickest explanation he could, until her father could give her the full story the next night.

"The night of the storm, I could feel your presence, you've gotta remember I thought you were dead at this point, and even though I was cold I felt warm, I could taste s'mores and could hear you singin', I felt safe and comforted, like I was wrapped in your arms, I only ever feel that safe when I'm in your arms, I just thought it was a hallucination or fantasy, somethin' my mind had created to make me feel safe, somewhere to hide" she tells him, making him glad she had that small measure of comfort while she was being tortured.

"Will it always be as intense as this now?" She asks him, wondering if she'll be able to cope with this level of sensation every time they want to be together.

"I think like anythin', as you get used to it the intensity will dial back a bit, and you'll learn to block it if that's what you want, if it's a bit too much, but I think it's gonna be even worse once you're in heat AND I'm in rut" he answers, trying to be honest without freaking her out.

"What do you mean 'when I'm in heat'?" She asks in a dangerous tone of voice.

"This is what I need your dad to explain to you...." he starts before trailing off for a few moments then beginning again "one of the changes caused by your... well... 'bein' turned'... is that your cycle is gonna change, instead of bein' fertile every month it's gonna be once every three months, and while you are fertile you'll become... hornier than you could ever imagine, if it's anythin' like rut, and since we're Mated your heat and my rut will happen at the same time" he tries to explain, not knowing if he's doing a good enough job or not.

"El? You said you couldn't knot me because you're not in rut anymore, so how come you did? Not that I'm complainin'" she asks, running her fingernails gently down his side from his ribs (as high as she could reach with her back to him) down over his hip to mid-thigh and back up to his hip again.

"Mmmm that's nice..." he says, making small thrusts into her again, causing her to grip his hip in silent encouragement "I have no idea, it might be because my wolf wanted to reClaim you too and it just forced it to happen so the Claim would fully form, even though that wasn't needed, because i've already Claimed you and this was just mostly symbolic" he says, trying his best to explain something he doesn't really understand.

"Ok, we'll ask dad about it all tomorrow, right?" She asks, realising that he doesn't know enough to answer all the questions she has.

"Right" he answers sounding relieved at her decision.

He gives her a tight squeeze around the waist and pulls his hips back, sliding out of her and unintentionally allowing a flow of his cum out of her at the same time.

"SHIT! Sorry, stay there!" He says jumping out of the bed and scurrying to the bathroom to get one of their damp towels to clean up Jayda and the bed, when he comes back and goes to clean up he has a moment of panic when he sees the blood mixed in with his cum, thinking he's hurt her by being too rough.

"Jay! Why didn't you tell me I was hurtin' you?" He says harshly, shaking her shoulder to emphasise how upset he is.

"You didn't hurt me! Not until now anyway! What's gotten into you?" She cries out, a thread of panicked fear running through the words.

"You're bleedin'! Why didn't you say that i'd hurt you or was bein' too rough?" He snaps at her, shaking her again.

"You've _forgotten_ already?" She asks, tears in her eyes and her voice as he looks down at her, his glower starting to give way to confusion.

Very slowly and deliberately she yells at him "I'm. Havin'. A. Miscarriage! Of _course_ there's blood!" Before shaking off his hand and rolling away from him, pulling herself into a small ball under the duvet.

"I'd like to talk to Quinn please" she says very quietly, but in such a cold way he knows better than to even try to argue with her, he finishes cleaning up the bed and Jayda, being so, so careful and gentle as he does, but she still flinches harshly when he touches her, hurting him more than when she hit him with her cast.

He walks to the bedroom door once he has his jeans and undershirt back on but pauses before leaving, turning back towards her, where he can just see her face over the quilt, and with the scent of her tears in his nose says "I'm so sorry, I'm such an idiot, I did forget, I was just so happy to have you back everythin' else just... faded away, I am sorry, I'll find a way to make this up to you" he can see her eyes have opened while he's been speaking and so he tries to give her a small smile, but it comes out broken and sad, so he turns back to the door saying "I'll ask Quinn to come up, if you need anythin' just shout, I'll be listenin'" then slipping out and down the stairs, slowly so that he can blink away the tears in his own eyes.

When he's about halfway down the staircase he notices Quinn stood at the bottom looking up at him in concern.

"El, is everything ok? I couldn't help but hear Jay shouting just now..." he asks, obviously worried something bad had happened.

"Jay wants you to go up, I've fucked up royally and I think she just wants someone who's not me with her right now" Eliot tells him in a monotone, not meeting his eyes as he slouches down the stairs looking dejected.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Quinn asks, not wanting to pry but being worried about his friend, he's never seen Eliot look so broken and defeated, not even at the hospital after they rescued Jayda.

"No, I'm just gonna give Sarah a cuddle and make us all dinner" he replies as he comes into the light from the living room.

"El, what happened to your face?!" Quinn yelps, upon seeing the bruising on the side of his neck and jaw from where Jayda hit him with her cast, coming to him and taking his face in his hands, turning it so he can see the damage better, but unknowingly making it obvious how attracted he is to Eliot by the way he holds his face, unconsciously cupping his hands around his jaw as though he was about to kiss him.

"It's ok Quinn, I'm fine" Eliot tells him in a low voice, a touch of _growl_ escaping with the words.

"But what happened?" Quinn insists, stroking over the bruise lightly with his thumb, making Eliot's eyebrow quirk up in surprise.

"Somethin' I did triggered a flashback for Jayda, in self-defence she swung with her cast and got me on the point of the jaw, but I'm ok and so is she, that's not what this problem is about..." Eliot explains, looking sick with guilt.

"So what is wrong?" Quinn asks gently, still not letting go of Eliot's face.

"We.... I... fuck!... after we'd finished, you know...., I had a go at her because there was a lot of blood, I thought i'd hurt her and she hadn't told me, that she'd hidden it from me that I was being too... rough... with her, I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her tellin' her she'd let me down, broken her promise that she'd tell me and stop me if I hurt her even in the slightest, she told me I hadn't hurt her at all til I grabbed her and so I called her a liar, but not in so many words, but she insisted she was tellin' the truth, so I demanded to know how come she was bleedin' if I hadn't hurt her, then she told me that she couldn't believe me, that i'd forgotten already, and when I didn't immediately remember she shouted at me, remindin' me that she's losin'.... our...." Eliot can't finish what he's saying, he can't bring himself to say the words. And all the time he's been talking Quinn has been getting paler and paler, because he did remember, and he can't believe Eliot had forgotten.

"Oh, Eliot! I don't think you could have found a way to hurt her more! Forgetting and calling her a liar, how are we going to fix this?" Quinn says, sliding his hands down Eliot's neck and settling them on his shoulders.

"I don't know..." Eliot answers, sounding beaten and exhausted.

"We'll sort it out, she's angry and upset but she'll calm down..." Quinn starts but is interrupted by his phone ringing.

"Ruby? What's up?" He asks, his face growing darker and more angry as the seconds tick by "should I bring Sarah back or leave her here overnight?" Quinn continues to listen and nods along slowly until saying "I'll borrow Eliot's truck, I'll be there soon, love you" and turns back to facing Eliot.

"The sheriffs department have turned up at Ruby's wanting to question her, I've gotta go look after Jane and see what I can do to help, can Sarah stay here?" He explains, obviously very worried for Ruby and Jane.

"Of course, I was gonna ask if she could stay here tomorrow because it's a full moon and we need to go run, so if you could check that's ok it'll really be a help, and of course you can borrow the truck, just bring it back as soon as you can, but don't worry about it, ok?" Eliot replies, handing over the keys for the truck "drive carefully Quinn, I don't wanna have to be anywhere near a hospital for a long time ok?" He adds, clapping Quinn on the shoulder.

"Thanks Eliot, tell Jayda I'm sorry I couldn't come up, ok? I'll talk to you later when I know what's happening" he promises before heading towards the door, stopping at the sofa Sarah is asleep on and leaning over to kiss her head before making for the door again, and then he was gone.

Eliot stands at the bottom of the stairs, taking a deep breath in through his nose and wondering how he was gonna deal with how badly he'd fucked up without a mediator. In the end he figures he should at least tell her Quinn had needed to leave, so she's not sat waiting for him to show up, so he climbs the stairs again, being quiet in case she's fallen asleep.

"Jay?" He whispers, still being careful in case she was asleep.

"What do you _want_ , Eliot?" She answers with a small amount of anger in her voice, or at least he hopes it's anger and not hatred.

"Quinn had to go, there's been an emergency, he says he's sorry, he's left Sarah with us overnight, I just wondered if there was anythin' you wanted or anythin' you needed me to do?" Eliot explained, standing in the doorway with his head hanging.

"What I want is to know how you could forget? How could you not remember what was happenin'? And why did you not believe me when I said you hadn't hurt me?" She demands, tears pouring down her face as she lays still curled up under the blankets.

"I... I forgot because I'm an idiot when I've just had sex with you, my brain totally goes off-line and all I know is I'm happy because I've given and received pleasure with my Mate, the woman I love more than life itself! I'm sorry I didn't remember, I was just so panicked that I thought i had hurt you, had caused you damage or pain and you hadn't _told_ me! That I thought you would hide it from me, not trust me enough to stop after everything that had happened, it hurt, and it blinded me to the possibility that there may have been another reason for the blood, because the only thing on my mind was whether i'd hurt you!" Eliot tries his best to explain, knowing he is doing a crap job but at least he was telling the whole truth "I'm so, _so_ , SO sorry, i'd do anythin' to take it back, I love you and I was just worried about you, it just came out really, really wrong, if it makes you feel better to know it, I am _devastated_ our baby died, havin' a family with you is what I've wanted for over a decade, I wish i'd saved you in time, I'm sorry I failed you then and now and i'd really like to come give you a hug... if you don't hate me too much" he tells her, trailing off to a near whisper with silent tears running down his face.

"You hurt me, physically as well as emotionally, I get that you were scared and worried about me, but you thought I was lyin' to you! I would never do that! I understand, but I'm still upset at you, but I don't hate you! I could _never_ hate you! I'd really like that hug..." she answers him, breaking down into harsh, unpretty sobs when she's finished, holding her hands out to him.

He's moving before she's even finished speaking, striding to the bed and leaning down into the circle of her arms, pulling her up from her laid down position and onto his lap, he wraps his arms around her as tightly as he dares and buries his face into her hair, rocking her gently as they both cry for the loss they've suffered and the pain of their fight.

After a while both their tears dry up and they just hold onto each other desperately until Jayda starts shivering.

"You want me to get you dressed and warm?" He offers, hoping she still trusts him enough to let him help.

"I'd like that, please, if you don't mind" she answers, quietly and meekly, looking up at him through her long eyelashes shyly.

"Hey, don't be like that, there's no reason to be shy or scared around me!" He says, stroking her cheek with his thumb, before slowly, tentatively leaning in to kiss her gently and lovingly.

He pulls back to rest his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes he asks "is this ok?"

"Yeah..." she whispers back to him, bringing her hands up to cup his jaw, in exactly the same way Quinn had, before leaning in to kiss him again, still being nothing but slow, gentle and loving.

When he pulls back this time he leans a little further away as she's still shivering and he doesn't want them to get distracted before she's dressed.

"What do you wanna wear?" He asks pulling one of the blankets around her shoulders while she decides.

"I've got some fleece pajamas in the second drawer of that chest" she says pointing "and my underwear is in the top drawer, I just need knickers and a vest top, the tops are on the right, colour doesn't matter" she tells him, knowing he might not like her wearing so much but she just feels cold all the time now, so he'll have to put up with it for a while.

"No problem" he tells her gently, before moving her off his lap and heading to the chest of drawers, after a little rummaging he finds a set of extra-soft, fleecy pajamas, he holds them up to her and says "are these the right ones?" To which she nods, and he turns back around to look in the top drawer, he quickly finds her some knickers that are in the boxer shorts style and grabs the top vest off the neat pile of them, turning round he comes back to the bed with his finds, laying them out for her.

She looks the clothing over and then realises "oh! I'm sorry! I forgot to ask, can you go into the top drawer again and get me some woolly socks? My feet are freezin'!" She says, looking up at him pleadingly.

"Course, anythin' else you need?" He asks, pausing while he waits for her answer.

"No just that" she says, smiling up at him tentatively.

He smiles back before turning to the chest again and pulling out a pair of very thick, home made, woollen socks, which he brings over to her, looking over what she has, her pajamas have a pattern of moons and planets and stars all over them on a midnight blue background, the vest he picked up is bright teal, and the socks are grey, not exactly a matching set but at least she'll be warm.

"Do you want my help to get these on or do you want to do it alone?" He asks, shuffling nervously from one foot to the other, fully expecting to be told to piss off.

"I need your help... if you don't mind" she tells him, biting her lip again, wondering if he's actually ok with helping or just doing it because he thinks he has to.

"Of course I don't mind, I love you, you're my Mate, i'd do anythin' you wanted or needed me to happily!" He tells her, bending down for a quick, sweet kiss before picking up the vest, saying "can you get this on ok?" She nods yes and he picks up the socks as he hands the vest to Jayda, which she has on in a matter of seconds, while he considers how to get the socks on over the casts.

"Don't worry, they'll stretch" she says, it being obvious what he's thinking.

"Oh, ok!" He answers smiling at her and quickly gets the socks on her, and then grips her toes for about thirty seconds on each foot trying to warm them up a little.

Once he's done he picks up the shorts he's brought her "how do you want to do this?" He asks looking serious.

"Well I was thinkin' you could put them on me while I lift myself up, if that's ok?" She tries, not sure how comfortable with the idea he is.

"Ok, let me get them on and up past your casts and then you can lift yourself so I can pull them up the rest of the way, alright?" He asks.

"Yeah that should work" she answers, smiling up at him sweetly.

Once he has the shorts up to her knees he asks "are you sure you can lift yourself ok with the broken wrist?"

"Yeah I'm not using my arms to lift me in that way" she says, putting her feet flat on the bed and lifting her hips, resting on her feet and her shoulders and arching everything in between upwards. And because she'd placed her feet quite far apart for stability, it meant that as he leans forwards to pull her shorts up he gets an up close and enticing view of her sex, still lightly coated in his seed. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to steady himself, but instead he gets a massive dose of their mixed scent, pheromones and the scent of sexual excitement, doing the exact opposite of what he hoped for, his dick hardening almost instantly in his jeans. He closes his eyes again for a moment, telling his wolf to back off, that he can't Mate her now, and his wolf whimpers in his mind.

Eventually he pulls the shorts up, slowly sliding them along her toned thighs, and up over her ass and pussy, leaving the top band resting around her hip line where it seems it's meant to be, before moving further up her body and kissing her gently but passionately, showing his love and want for her without pushing or demanding.

"Jay...." Eliot breathes out on a sigh as he pulls back from their kiss, looking down at her and seeing the pain in her eyes and the shaken trust she has in him "I'm so sorry, for forgettin', not believin' you and hurtin' you, both emotionally and physically, can you ever forgive me?" He begs her, holding her face gently in his hands and resting his forehead against hers so he can look into her eyes.

"I want to forgive you... I hate being angry with you, it makes my chest ache so badly, but you hurt me and accused me of lyin' to you, I don't know how to let it go, I've never felt conflicted like this!" This she tells him, her voice rising in a whine at the end.

"It's ok to stay angry at me, that feelin' will fade on it's own, with time, but I just need you to know that I know what I did wrong, I know it was wrong and I'll never do it again, do you understand?" He asks, trying to help her feel less upset.

"I understand, and I believe you'll try your best to keep that promise, I love you..." she tells him, leaning up to kiss him gently, before bringing her unbroken hand up and stroking the back of his neck, pulling him down to kiss him deeper.

When Eliot pulls back to take a breath he whispers "I love you too, more than everythin'" and she beams up at him, finally replying "I forgive you" before kissing him deeply again, making sure he knows she means it.

They pull back a little from each other as their kiss ends, both starting to speak at the same time.

"Can we get me dressed? I'm freezin'...." she starts.

"You're shiverin' again! I can't believe I got distracted again..." Eliot begins.

They both stop speaking and look at each other, both their faces twisting into smiles that want to be smirks, Jayda shakes her head and says "I'm cold, can we get me the rest of the way dressed?"

Eliot replies looking embarrassed "yeah, I'm sorry, I let myself get distracted, even though I was determined not to..."

He shrugs his shoulders at her in a 'what can you do?' Gesture and grabs the pants of her pajamas "wanna do these the same way?" He asks her, getting a nod in response and her feet coming to rest against his chest, where he's sitting on the side of the bed.

He gives her a lopsided smile and a raised eyebrow and hooks the pajamas over the feet and ankles of her casts, bunching them up onto her legs until her wool clad toes pop out of the bottoms of the legs, then pulls the waistband to mid thigh. She then takes her feet down and rests them on the bed, lifting her hips so that he can bring the waistband of the pajamas up over her ass and hips and to her waist. Then she lowers her hips down and sits up, allowing Eliot to bring the pajama shirt around her back and up both arms, buttoning it closed to make sure she keeps as warm as possible.

Once he's done up the last button and has smoothed the front Jayda catches up his hands from where they came to rest between her breasts and spends a moment just staring down at them, then she looks up into his eyes, eyes that are full of love and hope for forgiveness and makes a decision, she slowly brings his hands outwards, cupping one around each breast, then when he tries to speak she puts her fingertips over his lips, and uses her casted hand behind his neck to pull him forward, so that she can whisper into his ear "what you hold will one day feed our children, children we'll do everything we can to have and in the meantime can be lots of fun for us both, hopefully very, very often, I've figured it out, I've let it go..." before turning his head and kissing him, hard and passionately, pulling him with her when she lays back down until he's on top of her, them both kissing the other like this is their last time, Jayda lifting herself to rub against Eliot's hardness, making him moan into the kiss and grind down onto her.

After a few minutes of this they hear a small voice call out "daddy?" Sounding so lost and alone, Eliot whispers to Jayda "keep it for later? Is that ok?"

"Yes, lets go down" she whispers back, leaning up to kiss the tip of his nose.

"You wanna come down?" He asks, getting a nod in return, and so he shouts down the stairs "we're just comin'! I just had to get Jay dressed" before sliding to the side, off of Jayda, and then getting to his feet next to the bed and scooping her up ready to carry down the stairs.

Once he reaches the bottom and gets to the sofas he puts Jayda on the plushest sofa and grabs a blanket to wrap around her legs to keep her warm, then turns to Sarah.

"Hey, bug! I'm sorry you woke up alone, I was just gettin' Jayda dressed so she could come down and spend some time with us" Eliot explains, coming to crouch next to where Sarah sat on another sofa.

"It's ok, mo... Jay needs your help more, but where is Quinn?" She says, still unsure that Jayda is ok with being called 'mommy'.

"Quinn had to go home to look after Jane while your other mommy deals with some things to do with Jared's death, so you'll be stayin' here tonight if that's ok?" Eliot asks, hoping the news will make her happy.

"Can we run before bed again?" She wheedles, having really enjoyed running with Eliot before.

"Oh, I dunno... what do you say mommy?" Eliot answers, giving her a little nod to show her she's meant to say yes.

"Hhhhmmmm, have you been good for daddy?" She asks, getting a frantic nod in reply "are you going to go to bed with no problems after your run?" She pushes, wanting to draw the tease out a little.

"YES! I'm always good for daddy and I'll have a shower with daddy and go straight to bed after our run, I promise!" She bursts out, squirming in her seat in excitement.

"Ok, after eatin' dinner and it's had time to settle, but you're daddy's to deal with after your run" she tells them both, making Eliot smile broadly and Sarah bounce in her seat.

"Ok, bug, what do you think we should have for dinner?" Eliot asks, expecting some processed food answer like fish fingers or chicken nuggets, instead he gets "how about homemade vegetarian lasagna with homemade garlic bread and maybe some kind of salad, but it's ok if you don't want to make a salad, I don't really like them much" which leaves him wide-eyed but happy to oblige.

"Yes ma'am, anything else you'd like?" He asks her, still amazed by her answer.

"A glass of wine for mommy, she's earned it" Sarah says, looking over at Jayda who gasps and puts her hand over her mouth while she battles to stop herself from crying.

Eliot gets Sarah's attention back on himself quickly by saying "I think that's the best idea I've heard all day, you gonna come bring it through for her?"

"I... I... what if I spill it? Or d... dr... drop it and sm... smash the... the glass? I do... don't want to be... to be bad anymore!" Sarah stammers out before bursting into tears.

"Hey, hey, shush now, it's ok, we talked about this, havin' an accident is _not_ bad, if you spill a bit of the wine I can clean it up, no big deal, same with accidentally droppin' the glass, the only thing i'd be worried about is whether you got hurt, because you're our special bug, and we always want you to be safe, ok? I promise you, we wouldn't ever think you're bad for somethin' you can't control, so you gonna come fetch this wine?" Eliot tells her after pulling her into his lap on the floor where he had been crouched.

"If you think I should..." she answers him, playing with the key hanging around his neck as she speaks.

With that Eliot climbs to his feet, carrying Sarah with him, and heads for Jayda's kitchen, opening a bottle and pouring a glass of wine for her and then very carefully handing it to Sarah, watching her take it to Jayda without a problem and handing it over to her.

"See that wasn't so bad was it? Would you like a little sip?" Jayda says to her.

"I'm not allowed, he said if I ever tried to have a grown up drink he'd keep me in the cage all weekend, even when I was human" Sarah mumbles staring at the floor, instantly followed by the sound of something shattering in the kitchen, when Jayda turns to look Eliot is holding the remnants of a wine glass, blood and wine dripping from his tightly clenched fingers, while all she can hear from behind the curtain of his hair is a low _dangerous_ growl.

At hearing this Sarah comes to Jayda and crouches next to her with her arms around her neck, Eliot chooses then to look up at them, and even across such a large room Jayda can see his eyes aren't blue, but they're not gold either, they're red and it scares her silly, they stare at each other for a moment and then Eliot turns sharply, throwing the remains of the glass into the sink and striding to the back doors, opening them and slipping out before Jayda can think what to say, and then he's gone, into the darkness, alone.


	22. Questions without answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby is questioned in regards to Jared's death, Jayda and Sarah worry about Eliot and his reaction to what Sarah has revealed, and Ruby and Quinn relax after the stressful day they've both had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR :-
> 
> TALK OF :- SPOUSAL ABUSE  
>  CHILD ABUSE  
>  TORTURE  
>  MEDICAL PROCEDURES 
> 
> So I've given in, chapter twenty seven will have a Parker/Hardison love scene, but it's gonna take a while to write it, so bare with me, and don't beg for more chapters to be uploaded while I'm working, I like to post one as I finish one.
> 
> Just remember I spoil y'all rotten, but I do it because I love ya
> 
> Enjoy darlin's

RUBY

They travel in silence to the police department building in town, Ruby wondering what they intend to accuse her of, Quinn had told her that they hadn't arrested her so she has the right to walk out any time, she just hopes he's right.

Once they pull up outside the back door to the building the deputy lets her out of the backseat of the car, taking her bicep in a firm grip and pretty much dragging her into the building.

Once her eyes adjust to the dim light inside the office she can see it's laid out in a traditional style with a service desk at the front and then rows of desks leading back to some private offices, she guesses belonging to the sheriff and any detectives they have, she's brought to a desk and is told to sit down, so she nervously sits on the edge of the hard chair she's been offered and waits while the deputy gets himself a cup of coffee.

Once he comes back he settles into his chair and says "the guy who's gonna come take photos of your wounds should be here soon, so while we wait, how about you tell me what you'd been doing and when today?"

Ruby bites her lip in thought and then takes a deep breath "I was woken up about eight by Quinn, by the time we'd showered and dressed and came downstairs it was about nine, maybe nine thirty, Bruce, one of the hands at the farm had stayed overnight, in case Jared had come back during the night, because Jared had shot my dad with a shotgun earlier in the day, before having a fight with Eliot and Quinn and being convinced to take the cheque my father had written him for his half of the farm and never coming back, so Bruce had kept an eye on Jane with his husband Caleb so Quinn and I could get some sleep, by the time we'd all had breakfast it was around ten thirty."

"I called Eliot, because my sister had been missing for days, and he asked us to come over and look after Sarah while he went out as a wolf, looking, or rather smelling for any sign of Jayda, when we got there my dad was already there, he'd got a message telling us where Jayda was being held and tortured, so Eliot and his friends went to get her, this would be about eleven thirty to noon, while we all waited at the house, as soon as they had her they called us so that dad could meet them at the hospital, and he and Quinn left leaving me and the girls in Jayda's house, that would be twelve thirty, I remember looking at my watch, a few hours later Quinn called me, asked me to put a bag together for Jayda and Eliot, so I did and he came to pick it up maybe an hour later, it's about three maybe four at this point, he told me Eliot had asked for Sarah to come see Jayda, so they could talk about her being their daughter, he told me I should take Jane and go home, that he'd be home once Jayda and Eliot were home and settled, as they had already decided she was coming home that day, after her captor made an attempt to kill her in the hospital, so we left Jayda's house at the same time, he went back to the hospital and I went to get groceries, as everything fresh we'd had in had gone bad while we were tied up, I bought Jane a sub sandwich for dinner as a treat and then we came home, to find you waiting on the doorstep." She tells him, changing the truth only a little, so that she wasn't alone at the time of Jared's death and the fire.

"And how come neither your father or your sister have made police reports about what has happened to them?" The deputy asks, watching her closely.

"Jayda intends to make her report tomorrow, as far as I know, we all just wanted her to have a day of peace and safety before having to go through it all again, but the hospital have taken all the photos and made detailed records about the damage done to her ready for the report, and to the best of my knowledge you were called about the people who attacked her in the hospital, they were being held for you to come and collect. As for my father? If he pressed charges then Jared would be arrested, get bailed and be unable to leave the area, the exact opposite of what we wanted, we just wanted him to leave, as soon as the cheque cleared, so I assume that is why he didn't report it" Ruby tells him tiredly.

"Is there a medical record of your father's treatment for the gunshot wound?" He asks.

"No, Jared had used tiny gauge shot in his shotgun, made of silver, probably in the hope of getting to shoot at Eliot, as there is a good chance that would end up lethal to him, Eliot removed all the shot from my father's leg and took care of the wounds, he has battlefield medic training and my father is an ER doctor, between them they knew he'd be ok, so no need to waste the hospital's time and money" she answers, resting her elbow on the table and rubbing her forehead.

"If everyone was so worried about Jared coming after one of you why did they leave you alone in Jayda's house?" He asks, leaning back in his chair but still watching her closely.

"When Jayda had her house built she had a safe room or panic room built, it's actually a small apartment rather than a room, but it's impenetrable, me and the girls were in there while we were alone, that's why everyone felt safe leaving us" Ruby explains.

"And is there any chance Jared was involved in your sister's disappearance?" He finally asks, this was the question she'd been expecting.

"It's possible, but we already know who was behind it, it was an ex of Eliot's, her name is Samantha, I don't know her last name, she has held a grudge for over eight years since Eliot ended their fling because he is in love with Jayda, he'd told her when he ended it that it was because he was in love with his childhood best friend, so she found out who the best friend was, and then got money together to hire some muscle, then came and took Jayda and tortured her, badly, she nearly died, and she suffered a miscarriage because of the mistreatment she suffered, Jayda and Eliot are both devastated about that, as she had been told she couldn't have more kids after Sarah was born, so this seemed like a miracle, but to go back to your question? It's a possibility that Jared had some part in it, but I don't know how small or large" Ruby replies, getting lost from the subject a little due to the headache that was forming behind her eyes.

"Did you know your husband was having an affair with this woman? And do you know who she is?" The deputy asks, pulling a still from a cash point camera out of the folder on the desk.

The picture is of Jared and a woman, huddled together for warmth in front of the cash machine, him kissing her on the cheek while waiting for the machine to do its thing and her smiling and laughing, Ruby recognises her immediately.

"That's Samantha, Eliot's ex, and no I didn't know he was having an affair with her, I knew he cheated on me a lot but never who with, if i'd known maybe we could have found Jayda earlier, in time to save her baby..." Ruby whispers as tears leak down her face.

"I think that's all the questions I have for now, I'll see if the guy who will take you to take the pictures we need of your wounds is here yet and then arrange someone to take you home" the deputy stands up and offers her a box of tissues before heading over to one of the side rooms that open from this one, where she assumes the radio operator is located from the steady flow of chatter that's been drifting across from there.

Ruby dries her eyes and face and sits with her hands folded on her lap, worrying about her sister and both her daughters, and whether any of this was going to come back on Quinn or Eliot, she's jolted back to the here and now when the deputy returns, making her jump.

"Sorry there ma'am didn't mean to scare you, the guy who usually does all our evidence photos is busy so I'm gonna take the pictures and take you home, I'm just gonna be a few minutes, alright?" He tells her.

"Yes of course, no problem" she answers, staring back down at her hands and getting lost in thoughts of Quinn until the deputy touches her on the shoulder, making her jump again and her heart start racing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump, it's just you didn't answer when I called your name, are you alright? I'm ready to take your pictures now" the deputy says, looking down at her with concern.

"Oh! I'm fine, I was just lost inside my own head, lets go" she answers.

She follows the deputy down a short hallway to a room that when he opens the door she can see is the 'processing room' for prisoners, where they have their fingerprints and photographs taken, there is a young woman in there already who looks up at the sound of the door.

"Ms Whit... Red Cloud, this is Sheila, she's our radio operator, she's just here to act as a chaperone for your safety, the room also has video surveillance for the same reason, are you ok to start?" The deputy asks.

"Lets get this over with, where and how do you want me?" Ruby asks with a sigh.

"I know it's not the best place but in front of the camera we use for prisoners would be best" he answers looking apologetic "I'll need you to remove all clothing above your knees, I'm sorry" he finishes.

She takes a deep breath in through her nose and then walks to where she needs to stand, she immediately takes off her sweater quickly followed by her bra, getting a gasp from the girl, Sheila, at the state of her torso, then undoes her jeans and pushes them and her panties down to her knees where her boots hold everything in place, this time Sheila squeaks with her hand over her mouth, obviously appalled at the wounds she was seeing.

Moments later the deputy takes the first picture, a neck to knees shot showing all the wounds, he then uses a zoom lens to take more close-up pictures of each area that has been damaged, by the time he's finished she feels like she's been stood there for hours, her headache is a migraine thanks to the spotlight she's stood looking into and she's shivering, the moment he says "we're done" she has her panties and jeans up and is putting her bra on, in less than thirty seconds she's fully dressed, hugging herself trying to get warm again.

"Ok, I'll take you home now" the deputy tells her leading her out to his car.

The ride home is just as silent as the ride out, but this time instead of just staring out of the window Ruby texts Quinn, letting him know she's on the way back.

When they pull up outside the house the deputy apologises for any inconvenience and wishes her a good evening before driving off, Ruby turns towards the house and Quinn is waiting for her in the doorway, arms thrown wide for her to rush into when she's climbed the porch steps.

"Sean! That was awful! I'm so glad to see you!" She cries, holding onto him so tightly around the ribs he's having trouble breathing.

"Hey, hey, baby, it's ok, you're home now, I'm not going anywhere, come inside and have dinner with me, Bruce and Caleb ok?" Quinn soothes her, stroking her hair and reassuring her gently.

"You made dinner? And Bruce and Caleb are here? What about Jane?" She asks, sounding a little spaced out.

"Yes and yes, I thought it would be nice to get to know Bruce and Caleb better, so I invited them to dinner, but that was before the sheriff decided that you needed questioning, I hope you don't mind, and Jane's already eaten and been put to bed, she wants me to give you a kiss from her, but are you ok? You're a bit wobbly on your feet baby" Quinn answers, starting to sound really concerned as he gives her a quick peck on the cheek from Jane.

"I've just got a headache, some painkillers and something to eat should sort me out no problem, I love you, Sean" she says snuggling into his chest under his chin.

"I love you too, come on lets go in" he replies, leading her into the house with his arm around her shoulders, and taking her to eat.

JAYDA

"What's wrong with daddy?" Sarah asks Jayda as they sit staring at the door Eliot walked out of just a few minutes before, Jayda realises that Sarah is shaking, her arms tight around her neck.

"Come here babygirl, come have a cuddle, I'm not sure what's going on with daddy, but I think he was angry about what Jared threatened to do to you, he hates that you were hurt by someone who should have protected and loved you, but Jared's gone now so you're safe, and you don't need to worry about any of the things he said he'd do to you, so would you like to try some wine?" Jayda replies, bringing Sarah into her lap to cuddle and share her wine, hoping it will help her calm down a little.

Sarah looks up at her a little shyly and says "are you sure it's alright for me to? What if mommy Ruby gets mad at me for having it?"

Jayda looks down at her sadly, saying "I promise it's ok, if Ruby is mad she can be mad at me, but I'm your mom and I say it's ok, did you know in France kids always drink wine with meals, and when they grow up they don't get drunk as easily, or have as many people become alcoholics? So that's why I think it's ok for you to have a little, but from now on try not to mention the things Jared did or threatened to do to you in front of daddy, it hurts him to hear it ok?"

"Ok, I'm sorry I made daddy mad or upset, I didn't mean to" Sarah answers, taking the glass and having a pretty large gulp of the wine, scrunching up her nose as she hands the glass back.

"Do you like it?" Jayda asks, wondering if the scrunched nose was a sign she didn't like it or a 'not quite sure' sign.

"I like it but it tastes.... dry? I think..." Sarah tells her, obviously unsure how to describe the flavour and texture of the wine.

"It is what's classed as a dry wine, well done for gettin' that! If you like it you can share this glass with me, and once we're done we'll go outside and see if daddy is in the garden calmin' down, ok?" Jayda offers, getting an eager nod from Sarah, who reaches out for the glass and has another big gulp of the wine.

"Hey! You're supposed to sip it not gulp it! I know you want to check on daddy but lets give him a bit of time to cool off ok? Tell me about what you did while I was gone..." Jayda says, snuggling Sarah against her and listening as she tells her about staying with Eliot and how he protected her from Jared.

Once the wine is gone Jayda puts the glass on an end table and puts a sleepy-eyed Sarah onto her feet, once she's manoeuvred herself up onto her feet Jayda takes Sarah's hand and leads her to the back doors, picking up a blanket each along the way. Once at the doors she can see no sign of Eliot, but he could be hidden behind something, so she wraps herself and Sarah in the blankets then opens the door, outside they walk slowly along the meandering path that is bordered with aromatic herbs, but find no sign of Eliot until they are on their way back to the door, when she spots something on top of the cover for the hot tub, so she goes over to investigate.

On the top of the hot tub are Eliot's jeans and wife beater, along with his engagement ring which he'd looped onto the leather thong his key was on, so she knew he'd gone to run as a wolf, but that he knew she'd come out here and find this, and leaving his ring and key behind had been a message, that he was angry with her and didn't consider this to be home... she sniffles at the thought and fights a whine that wants to escape her throat, instead picking up the clothes and leather thong and leading Sarah back indoors.

"You tired sweetie?" She asks as she puts Eliot's things down on the table, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, but daddy promised we could run before bed tonight!" Sarah answers, a whine in her voice.

"I know babygirl, but he's gone runnin' because he's angry and I don't know when he'll be back, but I _promise_ no matter what you can go runnin' tomorrow, even if you have to run alone if daddy isn't here, is that ok?" She asks gently, cursing Eliot in her mind for letting their little girl down.

"Ok" Sarah sighs out exhaustedly, barely keeping her eyes open, then yawning hugely.

"C'mon then, lets go up, get you showered, and then into your pajamas, where do you wanna sleep? with me and daddy or down here if I light the fire for you?" Jayda says, putting her blanket back over the sofa and making her slow, unsteady way to the staircase.

"Are you allowed to shower with your casts on? Cause I wasn't allowed to, and I don't want to shower on my own..." Sarah asks, ending with a whine.

"No I can't shower with my casts on, are you sure you can't go in on your own? I'll be just outside" Jayda asks, really not up to fighting with her over it.

Sarah rests her forehead against Jayda's belly and shakes her head while she hugs her "no I can't go on my own, and i'd like to sleep with you, if that's ok and won't make daddy mad?"

"It won't make daddy mad, but I'm not comin' to bed yet, I'm gonna stay up to let him back in when he comes back" she tells her while thinking 'IF he comes back'.

Once Jayda has half-crawled up the stairs and Sarah has helped her to stand at the top they go into the bedroom, Sarah bringing her pajamas from where Eliot had neatly folded them and put them on the chair.

"If you don't have a shower now do you _promise_ to have a bath or shower first thing in the mornin'?" Jayda insists.

"I promise, mommy" Sarah says, not knowing the power that word has over Jayda.

Jayda bites her lip hard to stop herself saying the wrong thing and then after a deep breath says "c'mon then sweetie time to get changed" Sarah has her clothes off amazingly quickly and is soon wrapped up in her pajamas and a blanket under the covers of the bed, eyes drooping into sleep already.

Leaning over her Jayda whispers in her ear "we love you babygirl, more than anythin', sweet dreams" and then kisses her temple, by the time she's pulled back upright to her perch on the side of the bed Sarah is fast asleep, the wine obviously doing a number on her.

Jayda creeps out of the room as quietly as she can, closing the door behind her and then slowly and carefully works her way down the stairs again, to wait for Eliot's return.

RUBY/QUINN

Once the meal is eaten and Bruce and Caleb are headed home Ruby insists on cleaning the kitchen since Quinn had cooked, and she won't let him help, luckily Quinn cleans as he goes when he cooks, so there was only the casserole dish and plates and cutlery to wash, so while she cleans Quinn sits at the table and talks to her.

"So what did the cop ask you?" He asks, more worried about the stress she's under than anything else.

"They wanted to know everything that happened today, what my relationship with you is, did I cheat on Jared?, did I know he was fucking Samantha?, could he be involved in Jayda's disappearance?, how he abused us all, when I last saw him, and they took pictures of the cuts on me, to be honest the guy was mostly kind about it all, I just had a migraine which made it all seem worse, at least the painkiller I took and this fabulous meal fixed that" she tells him, smiling at him at the end.

"What happened with Jayda? You never got a chance to tell me earlier" she asks in return.

Taking a deep breath Quinn tells her everything that happened at the basement and then the hospital, but he misses out about Eliot's jaw being bruised and their row about his forgetting, he just feels they were private and weren't for him to talk about, and he definitely didn't tell her about bursting in on them having sex because he thought someone had got in and was attacking them, or that he sneaked into the bathroom to listen and jerk off, it wasn't one of his best moments and he was ashamed he'd done it, let alone that he got caught.

Once he'd finished with what he was willing to tell her he looks up just in time to catch her as she flings herself onto his lap for a cuddle, she'd finished the dishes and was ready for a shower and bed, completely washed out by the events of the day.

"Are you ready for bed Sean?" She asks, snuggling her face into his neck.

"Whenever you are" he replies, cuddling her tighter to him, making her not want to move.

"I'm tired but I'm comfortable, and I don't want to move, let alone have to shower before going to bed..." she whines, nuzzling under his ear.

"You don't wanna stand up?" He asks, getting a head shake in response.

"Well you don't have to then" he says, standing up with her in his arms, making her yelp before wrapping her arms around his neck a little too tightly, but luckily realising and easing up quickly.

Once she's eased up on his neck Quinn walks to the kitchen doorway, pausing by the light switch so she can flick it off, before continuing up the stairs and allowing her to turn off the staircase lights and hall lights on the way past, once they're through the bedroom door he gently kicks it closed while she turns on the lights, turning the dimmer down so that they're not bright enough to set her migraine off again, leaving the room in a very low glow, almost like candlelight.

Quinn carries her over to the bed, but before putting her down asks "do you want that shower or do you wanna wait for morning?" Not caring which so long as she gets what she needs.

"I really should shower..." she says reluctantly.

"But what do you wanna do?" He insists.

"Want you to keep the promise you made me at lunchtime" she whispers right into his ear before sucking on his earlobe, making him groan quietly.

"Ruby,... you sure?" He asks, his voice gone deep and rather rough like Eliot's.

"God yes, I've been looking forward to being with you all day!" She tells him, gently scratching at the back of his neck, making him groan again, a little louder this time though.

Without another word Quinn moves for the bathroom, shouldering open the door and putting Ruby down on the counter, moving between her knees and kissing her hard, his tongue plunging into her mouth straight away, his hands pulling at her sweater, bunching it up along her ribs before pushing it up over her breasts, he breaks their kiss for a moment to pull it off over her head while she does the same to the tshirt he's wearing, before he pulls her against his chest firmly while he resumes kissing her, crushing her breasts up against him, making her break the kiss again to make a noise of pain.

"What's wrong?" He asks, panting.

"The wire from my bra, it dug into one of the cuts along my ribs when you hugged me tightly" she tells him, making him notice for the first time that she's even wearing one.

"I did tell you yesterday you should avoid wearing one for about a week, why did you put one on?" He asks as he reaches behind her and undoes the catch quickly, before slowly drawing the straps down her arms until it just drops off her breasts.

"Habit I guess, I was kinda _distracted_ when I was getting dressed" she answers, referring to the fact that while she was dressing a still wet from the shower Quinn was trying to take the clothes back off her again.

"Oh, sorry about that..." he says, blushing lightly, only feeling sorry because it's caused her pain, not for actually doing it.

Now that the bra is out of the way he pulls her back against him tightly and starts to kiss her, before long, while they're still kissing she shuffles forwards on the countertop, until she can press herself against his hardness that was evident between her legs, raising her legs to wrap around his waist, pulling him even tighter against the damp crotch of her jeans.

" _Ruby_..." he moans, dipping down to suck on her nipple before bringing his hands to the fly of her jeans, undoing them quickly then thrusting his hands down the back of them, grabbing her ass and pulling her even closer so he can grind against her.

"Oh! Sean!" She calls out, tipping her head back, exposing her throat to his mouth at the feel of him rubbing against her most sensitive places.

As he lifts her by the ass, using his wrists to push the back of her jeans down further, she reaches out and undoes his pants, giving them a shove off his hips to leave them to drop to the floor, leaving him in nothing but tight boxer-briefs, then he puts her back down on the counter, working her jeans down over her hips and thighs, taking her panties with them, until they fall to the floor too, then moving back in between her thighs, rubbing his sensitive length between her lips, catching on her aroused clit, making her gasp as he moves.

"Mmmm... need you..." she moans, pulling him tighter to her by the hips, bringing her head forward to kiss him again, kissing him passionately until they have to break apart for air.

"Want you in the shower, so I can make a mess of you..." he growls against her neck, nipping at her ear playfully.

" _Shorts off_ " she demands, grabbing the waist of his shorts and pulling downwards even as he continues grinding his aching cock between her lips, his cockhead rubbing the underside of her erect clit roughly with each thrust making her pant against his ear.

Once his shorts have hit the floor he steps out of them and his pants, kicking them to one side before grabbing Ruby tightly and lifting her, his cock sliding down her slit until he's poised at her entrance, but he doesn't want to enter her yet, even though he can feel she's wet enough for him, he wants to wait until they're under the pounding spray of the water, so he carries her over to the shower, having no problem carrying her weight because she's so tiny and petite, once they're through the door he turns on the water, pushing Ruby's back up against the cold wall tiles, kissing her like a man in the desert being given water, one of his hands coming up and grasping her breast, squeezing and massaging as he teases at her entrance with his cock.

"Please... please Sean, I need you,... need you inside me,... need you to fill me..." she begs, squeezing his waist even tighter with her legs, her hands in his hair holding his head in place while she kisses him with abandon.

He needs no further encouragement, slowly sliding his tip into her, feeling her wet tightness enfolding him, squeezing the head of his cock, making him want to just thrust all the way into her, as deep as he can get as quickly as he can, just as he's about to pull back before pushing in deeper his head comes up against muscles that are clenched too tight for him to enter her further, making him growl in hatred for the person who caused such fear in her, he slowly pulls back and out of her, still kissing her but knowing he's gonna have to relax her before they can go further.

"Sean? Why have you stopped? What's wrong?" She asks him, sounding both worried and heartbroken at the same time.

"Need to put you down for a minute" he says, avoiding answering all of the questions she asked on purpose, putting her onto her feet when she unwraps her legs from around him "good, stay there against the wall and just do what I ask ok?" He asks her, holding her waist while he leans up against her, kissing her and rubbing his erection up against her flat belly, the head occasionally catching in her navel.

As he kisses her he starts to move across her cheek to her ear, giving the lobe a gentle-ish bite before trailing down her neck with a mixture of kisses, nips, sucks and scraping of teeth over the tendons, eventually licking into the hollow of her throat then following her breastbone down to her breasts, one hand playing with one while the other nipple is being sucked and bitten, giving her sensations in her clit she's never felt before, almost a pulling sensation, like a thread is running from her clit to her nipple and every time he sucks hard on her nipple he is pulling the thread hard, making her cry out in pleasure, at the sound of her cry he slips his hand between her thighs, gently but firmly stroking the length of her clit with his fingertips while he swaps nipples and gives equal attention to the other, before kissing down the centre of her belly as he moves to his knees in front of her, licking into her navel, getting a taste of his own precum from where his weeping slit had rubbed against her skin, turning him on even more, making him lick harder against her as he lowers his mouth even further, until he's kissing her mound, over her stitches, and running the tip of his tongue over the length of her clit, he loves that she has such a long clit, that stands proud of her body, giving him the most intriguing ways of pleasuring her, and teasing her too.

He moves his hand from between her thighs, slipping it further between and around the back of her right leg, using his grip to pull her knee over his shoulder, so she's stood on one leg with the other trailing down his back, while he finally reaches his goal and buries his face between her legs, sucking her clit into his mouth to stroke it with his tongue and gently rub over it with his teeth, making her gasp and pant, occasionally calling his name as her hands tighten is his hair, pulling gently.

After a few minutes of stimulating her clit he licks as far back along her folds as he can, wanting a stronger taste of her but being frustrated by his limited reach, so he pulls his head back and looks up her body at her.

"Do you trust me? Trust me to keep you safe?" He asks her seriously.

"Of course I do!" She answers, unconsciously taking a tighter grip on his hair.

At her answer he dives back between her thighs, licking at her folds frenziedly as he takes hold of her right ass cheek firmly and then pulls her left leg up over his shoulder to match her right, her back being against the wall being the only thing balancing her as she sits on his shoulders, but meaning he can bury his face further into her pussy, making her pant and moan now that he's able to reach to drive his tongue up into her, rubbing her sensitive inner lips with his five o'clock shadow, making her squeak out a cry of pleasure before he returns to sucking her clit deeply.

"Oh!... oh yes!... Sean!.... AHhhhh!" She shouts out, cumming all over his face, making him smile as he licks at her hole, gathering her cum on his tongue so that he can taste her, loving the evidence of her pleasure. Once he's finished licking her he trails his tongue up the underside of her clit, teasing it like the miniature cock it is, making her moan loudly.

"You ok if I let you down?" He asks, not wanting to put her down if her legs won't hold her.

"Yes..." she answers breathlessly, breathing deeply while carding her fingers through his hair, spreading it so it lays down around his face like Eliot's does, only Quinn's is curls, almost ringlets now it's wet, unlike Eliot's straight hair. He looks up at her with a long-suffering look but doesn't say anything, liking her hands in his hair too much to complain about how she's making him look.

He slowly puts her left leg down until her foot is firmly on the floor, once he's sure she's stable he brings her right leg down, but doesn't place her foot on the floor, instead he stands back up, pulling her leg around his hip while he presses up against her, rubbing his still rock hard cock against her belly.

" _Please_..." she whines, pulling him tight against her, desperate to feel him inside her again.

"Don't worry sweetheart" he tells her, his lips brushing against her neck as he speaks, making her shiver in anticipation.

Feeling her shiver he bends his knees, dipping down and lifting her under the thighs again, with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, making it easy for him to slide his hot, hard, cock along the length of her slit until he rests at her entrance, the tip of the head rubbing over her opening maddeningly.

" _Please_..." she begs him again, unable to bare being teased any longer.

At her desperate moan he pushes upwards, sliding into her, but again coming up against clenched muscles that are too tight to allow him through, worrying him that she hasn't relaxed after her orgasm.

"Ruby, what's wrong? Are you upset still? Or have I hurt you? Tell me what you need..." he asks her, just wanting to make her feel as good as she makes him feel when he holds her in his arms, slowly pulling his cock back out and sliding back in as far as her body allows, hoping she'll loosen for him.

"I don't know! I feel safe, happy and relaxed! Why won't my body work?!" She cries, trying to force herself down onto his length against her own body's objections.

"No! Ruby stop! Don't do that, okay, we'll figure it out, just please don't try to force it, we have all night, just relax, let me do this for a bit and if nothing changes then we'll try something else, I have a few ideas, alright?" He whispers against her neck, begging her to be patient about this and trust him.

"Ok..." she answers tearfully, devastated that her body won't obey her wishes.

"Hey, hey now, don't cry, we'll work it out, I promise" he tells her, pulling his head back to look her in the eye "I love you, and I'm gonna make you feel good no matter what, ok?" He adds before kissing her hungrily, not giving her a chance to answer at all.

After a few minutes of kissing and partial thrusts Quinn pulls back from their kiss so that he can hitch Ruby up a little further against the wall, allowing her to tighten her legs around his waist more, which changes the angle he's entering her at, on his next thrust into her he suddenly finds himself past the tight muscles, deeply inside her as she bites his shoulder _hard_.

"What? Are you alright? Did I hurt you?" He grinds out, gritting his teeth against the pain of her very strong bite.

"It's ok, I'm alright, it just... _pinched_... for a second, but I'm ok now, promise, _please_ carry on, I want you so much..." she pants out, begging him not to stop because it had hurt her a little, not now she is finally getting what she needs.

"I should stop, I told you what I would do if I hurt you..." he starts, having every intention of sticking to his word.

"NO! Please, please don't stop, you didn't hurt me on purpose and it was just a little, please don't do that, just carry on, please I need you..." she begs him, tightening down on his cock in the hope it will help her distract him and get him to agree with her.

"The bite mark in my shoulder begs to differ about it only being a little..." he says shaking his head gently before dipping forward and kissing her slowly and lovingly as he begins to thrust into her in a matching manner.

"Oh! Yes!.... Mmmm.... oh like that, please!" She pulls away from his lips to cry out, gasping in pleasure.

"Right there? You like that? It feel good?" He asks as she nods frantically in reply, tightening down on him rhythmically, already nearing an orgasm, making him move faster and harder as her nails dig into his neck and she pulls his hair more harshly, turning him on even more knowing he's giving her pleasure.

Soon she tightens down on him harshly, tight enough to still his movements while she goes flying into her orgasm, crying out her release as she covers his thighs in her cum, shivering and shaking in his arms as she slowly releases her almost painful grip on his throbbing cock.

"You ok?" He asks, still panting into her neck, getting a slow nod in reply as she cards her fingers through his hair again.

"I need to put you down before we carry on, if you are up to carrying on?" He tells her, getting a whispered "yes" in his ear in reply before he turns her face so he can kiss her passionately.

He slowly eases his cock out of her gently, not wanting to hurt her any further than he already has, before slowly unwrapping her legs from around his waist, eventually putting both her feet on the floor, kissing her still, even over the whimper she lets out when he pulls out of her body, a whimper which worries him greatly.

"Are you ok? Have I hurt you more?" He asks, his worry overshadowing his arousal.

"What? No! I... I.... I whimpered because I didn't want you to pull out, I hate it when you leave me... and you haven't cum yet,... I want you to, I want to feel you claim me..." she tells him, blushing even through the flush of the heat from the water, her arousal and her orgasms.

"And what are the best ways to 'claim you'?" He asks, nibbling down her neck while he pulls her body tight against his own.

"Well the two best ways in my opinion are for you to fill me with your cum until it drips out of me for days, or to cover me in your cum repeatedly so that to all the were's I smell of you, so they'll know you've claimed me, the other way is the bite but you know how I feel about that" she tells him, giving him the answer he was expecting, meaning he can carry on with the plan he had for tonight.

"Good, c'mere" he growls out at her, turning her roughly to face the wall of the shower, and raising her foot up to the little lip/shelf around the bottom of the shower, about a foot up, opening her up for him, he grabs both her hands, bringing them up to above her head, holding them there against the wall in one hand while the other slips between her legs, his fingers entering her easily, thrusting in a few times and gathering her wetness before pulling his hand back, smearing her cum over his cockhead, lubricating himself before moving forward and pushing into her slowly, once his head is inside her he brings his free hand up to where hers are and takes hold of each hand, intertwining their fingers and bringing them down to chest height to lean against the wall, then thrusting into her all the way, being gentle to make sure she was open for him and that he wouldn't hurt her any further.

"Can I be a bit rough, forceful with you? Not force you just be a little more.... aggressive? Just this once?" He asks, wanting to be sure of her consent before doing anything.

"Of course you can, I know you being rough would just be rough play and you'd stop if I ever wanted you to, I know I'm safe with you" she tells him, wanting whatever he wants to give her.

"Good!" He growls, pulling back and thrusting into her forcefully, forcing her up onto her tiptoes with the strength behind it, before hammering into her tirelessly, while he releases her right hand, so that he can reach between her legs and rub and milk her clit, bringing her quickly to the edge, ready to fall into her orgasm at the slightest thing.

"You're Mine! I love you, I'm never, ever going to let you go, gonna mark you as Mine!" He growls directly into her ear, before biting her relatively gently on the back of her neck, not trying to hurt her, just stimulate her, and it works, she tips over the edge, clenching down on him, squeezing his cock tightly as he thrusts, bringing him to the edge, so he quickly pulls out, working himself harshly until he spills over her ass, covering her cheeks and asscrack in his cum, watching as it drips down her crack and over her slit, because of the way she has her hips tilted so her ass and pussy stick out from between her thighs, watching as it slides over her entrance, the sight driving him crazy with possessiveness until he pushes himself back into her, thrusting until her breath hitches, and then just grinding against her as his erection starts to flag.

"You ok?" He asks, wrapping his arms around her chest from behind, cuddling up to her while still sort of grinding/thrusting into her as much as his half-hard dick can manage.

"I'm awesome, but I'm not sure I can stand long enough to shower" she says ruefully.

"Well you're gonna have to manage it, the mess I've made of you, sorry" he says apologetically, slowly pulling out of her, getting a low whine in return, although he's not sure if it's because he's pulling out or because he's told her she has to shower.

"Will you wash me?" She asks quietly, sounding a little shy or embarrassed.

"I would love to" he answers, turning her in his arms, holding her tightly against him while he kisses her thoroughly, he makes quick work of washing both her and himself before leaning out of the shower for towels, wrapping the larger, fluffier one around her and the smaller one around his own waist, then picking her up and carrying her to the bed.

"Sean, you didn't need to carry me!" She tells him, grabbing his neck and pulling him down to kiss him, before laying back and pulling him down over her so as not to break the kiss.

Eventually he breaks the passion-charged kiss to say "we need to get dried, then more of this" before getting up off the bed and starting to dry his hair enough it won't drip on him while he dries his body, Ruby licking her lips as she watches him, his hard muscular body on display to her while he's distracted.

When he pulls the towel off his head he looks up and sees her watching, making him smirk before saying "c'mon get dried!" And turning his back to her, not realising that she enjoys that view just as much, but she does quickly dry off and wriggle under the sheets on the bed, snuggling down to keep warm before he turns back around and climbs in after her, giving a little shiver as he snuggles down and cuddles up to her, pulling her up against his side so he can go back to kissing her tenderly.

Eventually Quinn pulls back, looking down into her eyes he tells her "I really do love you, you know, so much, but as much as i'd like to we can't lay here kissing all night, we need to get some sleep"

"Just a little longer?" She begs with a slight whine in her voice, sounding exactly like Jane had when he told her it was time for bed earlier, down to using the exact same words, making Quinn choke then splutter out a laugh he couldn't hold in.

"What?" Ruby asks having no idea what brought on this sudden laughing/coughing/choking fit.

"Lets just say I have no doubt that Jane is definitely your daughter!" He answers still laughing before adding "but no, if we keep on now we'll get no sleep at all, trust me on this"

"Ok..." she replies, sounding a little down.

"Hey! It's not that I don't wanna, it's just we're both knackered and need the sleep, I'll still be here in the morning, promise" he tells her, making her smile softly up at him before scooting up the bed a little to kiss him quickly before snuggling back down with her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat while he wraps his arm around her and gives her a gentle squeeze, flicking off the lights before pulling the blankets up to her chin with his other hand, making sure she's warm and cozy for the night before kissing the top of her head and whispering "goodnight my love" into the darkness.


	23. Entrapment and Excuses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot finds something dangerous in the woods and returns to the house to inform Jayda, Eliot and Jayda relive one of their worst childhood memories and one of their most cherished adult moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I realised how short the last chapter was when I was rich texting it so here's another that is ALL Eliot (you're welcome!), but I'm nearly out of finished chapters so it really will be no more until I finish chapter twenty seven, but I promise it'll be worth it! Remember you've got "two hitters, a little genius, and a mall ten days before Christmas" coming for twenty five and six.
> 
> I hope y'all like this one, leave me comments whether you do or not, it feeds the muses speed-laced cookies and then they (and I) go faster!
> 
> Enjoy darlin's

ELIOT

Eliot is running, breath rasping in and out of his lungs, paws hammering the ground that is passing quickly beneath him, his right front paw _agony_ with every step, but it's not stopping him, nothing will stop him, not until he can _kill, tear, rend_ , bathe in the blood of the creature he wishes to hunt, but he knows that quarry is gone, already dead, but he _NEEDS_ to kill, to pour this anger out of his chest as the blood of his prey pours out of theirs.

Then Eliot skids to a stop, he can smell and hear something, his ears twitching, trying to triangulate where the sounds are coming from, then breaking to his left, coming into a tiny clearing, the scent of blood thick in his nose, as he stops and stares, trying to make sense of what he's seeing.

There is a wolf pup, it doesn't smell like a were, just a normal wolf, and it's foreleg is caught in what Eliot is pretty sure is a bear trap, the pup is whimpering in pain and fear, knowing this wolf is not of their pack and might kill them, Eliot is forced to follow his human instincts and help the pup, so he Changes back into his two legged form and looks for something he can use as a lever, after a while and a few tries he manages to open the jaws of the trap enough that he can carefully remove the pup's leg from it, the pup trying to shuffle away from him, still terrified, he thinks quickly about what would be better, trying to carry the struggling pup in his man form or carry it by its scruff as a wolf, in the end the realisation it's starting to snow again is what makes up his mind, as there's no way he'd make it the ten miles or so back in the snow as a man, so he Changes again before slowly coming towards the pup carefully and eventually picks it up, scruff caught securely in his massive jaws, due to his size he's still able to run even carrying the pup and makes his way home as quickly as possible.

ELIOT/JAYDA

Jayda is sat in relative darkness, staring into the flames in the fireplace when she hears scratching at the back door, she gets herself to her feet as quickly as possible and hobbles to the door, when she looks out of the glass she sees Eliot in wolf form with a pup hanging from his jaws, obviously hurt, she opens the door and says "in front of the fire, Eliot"

Eliot pads over to in front of the fire but instead of dropping the pup and backing away like she expects him to, he lays down and holds the pup curled in front of him, so he can keep a grip on the pup's neck until he's sure Jayda's safe.

Jayda turns on one of the spotlight reading lamps and points it at the pup, getting a very quiet growl from Eliot that she's unsure if it's meant for her or the pup, she goes to the kitchen and from under the sink pulls a medium sized first aid kit, bringing it over into the light.

Jayda gets herself down onto the floor, getting a scowl from Eliot, but telling him "I have no choice, stop looking at me in that tone of voice!" And getting a _huff_ in response, she starts slowly reaching for the pup, who is whimpering in pain and fear, so she begins talking and cooing to him telling him she only wants to help and she won't hurt him, within a minute he's allowing her to touch him and he's licking her hand every time it passes in front of him, she's noted the damage to his leg and is now checking everywhere else to make sure it's his only wound.

Once she's checked the rest of him over she comes back to his damaged leg, it would really help her if Eliot would Change back and tell her what happened, but since he shows no sign of doing so she'll have to do what she can, after finding that the leg is broken as well as torn up she reaches for the antiseptic and starts to clean one of the tears, when all the pup does in reaction to the pain is whimper and try to shuffle towards Jayda, looking for comfort, Eliot stands up and shakes, going over to the table and Changing, clearing his throat when he's done so that he can speak.

"Jay how is he?" He asks with a lot of _growl_ still in his voice as he puts his ring back on, not wanting to talk about what happened before he left yet.

"He's gonna need to see a vet for his leg, I can't deal with broken bones, what happened to him El?" She asks in return.

"I found him caught in a _fuckin' bear trap_ in the woods! Over on the side nearest town, I thought you said everyone knew the woods were owned by you and that the pack had freedom to run here without being in danger! I know he's not a were but he could have been! What if it had been Sarah?" Eliot rants, absently scratching at the palm of his right hand harshly.

"Everyone does! I think this has been done specifically to try to catch or hurt weres, our guest here was just unlucky that it caught him instead, I've bandaged it as best I can but he really needs a vet, let me call dad to come get him and take him to the vet in town, alright?" She answers him before looking up at him about to ask him to help her off the floor, but she doesn't get the words out, her mouth hanging a little open as she watches him scratch and hack at the bleeding palm of his hand as if he doesn't feel it.

" _ELIOT_! What are you doing!" She shouts at him, making grabby hands gestures at his heavily bleeding hand.

"Wha... oh shit!" He yelps out, immediately coming to her and dropping down onto his knees in front of her, holding his hand out to her.

"What were you _doing_?" She hisses out, pressing an antiseptic soaked pad of gauze over the wounds in the palm of his hand.

"AAAHHHH!" He shouts out at the pain from the pressure on the glass still caught in his palm and the sting of the antiseptic soaking into his cuts "it was itchin' because the skin had sealed over with glass still in it while I Changed, I started scratchin' without noticin' while we were talkin', and I guess I was being even rougher than I would have thought..." he answers, trying to move the pad so he can try to pull out pieces of glass with his fingers.

"Stop it!" She says slapping the back of his left hand that's fighting to move the gauze "I'll get the glass out with tweezers, but first use your good hand and go call my dad, and wrap a blanket around yourself, I like you being nude but Sarah's here and my dad doesn't need to see what I see in you..." she jokes giving him a saucy wink.

He laughs and shakes his head as he gets to his feet, heading over to the phone and calling Diwali, explaining about the wolf pup and that he needs a vet, but Quinn took their truck for the night, so could he come and take him there for them? Eliot listens for a moment then hangs up, before heading back to Jayda and the pup, who it seems is quite happy accepting strokes, scratches and fusses from Jayda, more like a pet dog than a wild wolf.

Eliot veers away and unlocks the front door, meaning Diwali can just walk right in when he arrives, so knocking on the front door won't wake Sarah, then grabs a blanket to lay over his lap and legs for while Jayda sorts out his hand, which he was not looking forward to.

"Where do you want me?" He asks, coming to stand next to her shoulder, stroking her hair with his unhurt hand.

She tips her temple against his hipbone, enjoying feeling his natural warmth against her face, before leaning in a little more and kissing the head of his already half-hard cock, making it jump in response "anywhere is fine, and while I dig around in your hand lookin' for shards of glass, I want you to think about what I'm goin' to do to you once your hand is finished, and I'll just give you a hint..." she answers huskily, leaning forwards again to kitten lick over the slit, just once, making him moan, before taking hold of the wrist of his hurt hand and pulling him down to sit facing her.

"Mmmm, do I get a kiss to be goin' on with?" He begs, using his good hand in her hair to pull her towards him and kiss her breathless.

"Well as nice as that is, it's all you're gettin' until your hand is sorted, so give!" She demands, snatching up his hand quickly but gently and finally pulling the gauze free to get a look at the wounds.

With the blood wiped away Jayda can see that Eliot's hand is a mess of partly healed and newly reopened wounds, she cleans as much blood off as she can and then gets out some sterile tweezers, first she pulls the pieces of glass she can actually _see_ out of his palm, the worst being a two and a half inch long piece of the stem of the wineglass which had embedded lengthways in his palm, he was lucky to have not severed tendons or damaged muscles or nerves with it.

After pulling out seven fairly large pieces of glass and there were no more she could easily see, she lifts her head to ask Eliot if he can tell if there's any more in there, but is surprised to find him zoned out, obviously meditating to deal with the pain, and rather than 'wake' him to ask she just carries on, gently and methodically testing each inch of his hand for glass she can't see but can feel, using this strategy she finds four much smaller pieces she could manoeuvre out through already existing cuts, but there is one, that is quite large, that has fully healed over and she's going to have to cut it out, so she gently shakes Eliot saying his name to bring him around, once he's fully aware again she explains about the piece she needs to get out.

"Got a scalpel? Then go ahead and cut, if you stick to where the wound is still healin' you shouldn't cause any more damage, it's ok, I trust you" he tells her, leaning forward and stealing a quick kiss before she takes a deep breath and cuts into the palm of his hand. She cuts from between the first bend in the thumb and the base of his thumb to just over the beginning of the mound at the bottom of the thumb, and then slowly levers out a long, thin, slightly curved piece of glass, when it's free Eliot lets out a long breath telling her "that one really hurt, but I didn't realise until you started to remove it and the pain lessened"

"Do you want any of these stitchin' or do you think you'll heal ok?" She asks, not having the experience of how well he heals now to know.

"I'll be fine, antiseptic gauze and a bandage overnight should do it" he answers, flipping the blanket away from his lap and trying to crawl over her.

"Nonononono" she says, pushing him back with a finger over his lips "not until I've finished bandagin' your hand, it'll only take a minute, ok?"

He lets out a pitiful whine at being told 'no' and the pup raises then tips his head, looking at Eliot, as if to say 'you're _really_ letting down the side here dude' making Jayda crack up in laughter and Eliot pout.

Jayda quickly bandages his hand firmly and securely, making sure that everything was as it should be before starting to pack away the first aid kit, when she's finally done she pushes the kit under one of the sofas out of the way and leans back to get her spine to pop after being sat crouched over Eliot's hand for so long, just as she's coming back to sitting up straight again she's caught around the waist and slowly lowered all the way back to the floor, Eliot supporting himself over her with his left hand, he's thrown his blanket to one side again and has his ass in the air while his nose is in her cleavage, rubbing his scent glands against each of her breasts and leaving wicked beard burn in his wake as he finally works his way up her neck, kissing, sucking and biting at all the points she finds most sensitive.

Just then they feel an icy cold draft and hear Diwali saying "well kids seems we're gonna have a lot of snow tonight...." before just trailing off, Eliot _knows_ how this looks and he knows he can't get his blanket around himself without exposing how turned on he is to his Mate's father, this is not a good position to be in, he's tempted to just bury his face in her neck and let her deal with it, but he knows that'll never work, then suddenly there's a blanket coming to rest over him, and Diwali finds his voice again.

"That should make things a bit easier for you both, I'm just going to go check on Sarah and let you both get up off the floor" the old shaman says, letting out a quiet chuckle as he walks to the stairs and climbs them up into the attic space bedrooms.

"Get up, get up, _get up_!" Jayda whispers in his ear, pushing against his chest until she can drag herself upright too, Eliot climbs to his feet, his erection pointing straight at Jayda, like he needs telling who makes him so horny, he reaches down to help her up onto the sofa and she takes his hand, however she is giving him a look that says 'shouldn't you be more worried about covering _that_ up than helping _me_ up?', once she's on the sofa properly he wraps the blanket around himself, and tucks it tight to hold itself up like a towel.

"Oh gods, my Mate's father thinks he just walked in on us having sex!" Eliot says quietly as he sits down next to Jayda and puts his face in his hands.

Jayda pulls a sympathetic face and puts her arm around him comfortingly before saying "well look on the bright side, if he'd been ten minutes later he would have, and if your hand hadn't been hurt he could have found us locked together, so you got off lucky" and smirking at his quiet moan.

"You're awful!" He whispers back to her as they see Diwali coming down the stairs, smiling softly.

"Ah! Good, now tell me what happened to this poor pup" he says, listening intently to what Eliot tells him about where the trap is, and how there was no scent on it, while the pup licks at the shaman's hand, begging for pets and scratches.

"Tomorrow I'll get some volunteers and we'll search the part of the woods you've indicated, for now I'll take the young one to Abigail and have him fixed up in no time, do the two of you want to foster him while he heals?" Diwali asks, making the two of them look at each other, thinking she'll say no, Eliot instantly jumps in saying "YES!" Only to get a frown from Jayda, making him hang his head a little.

"And you daughter? What do you say?" Diwali asks, having caught the frown she gave Eliot.

"Well I was goin' to say yes anyway, I just wondered why Eliot jumped in and said it like that?" She replies, aiming the end of her answer at Eliot as a question.

"I was worried you'd say no..." he tells her hanging his head further.

"Silly puppy!" She says, ruffling his hair and giving him a hug.

"Well I best be on my way, I'll talk to you after the search tomorrow" Diwali says, going over and picking the pup up with the blanket he's been laid on and heads for the door, Eliot jumping up to open it for him and close it behind him, getting a look in between that made him blush so hard he thought he might faint from lack of blood to the brain.

"Do you want to go to bed?" He asks her, coming to stand in front of her between her knees, hugging her head against his flat stomach gently.

"No, not yet, will you go lock the door, turn off the lamp, and then we need to talk, ok?" She asks, her demeanour going serious as she looks up at him.

"Ok, two minutes, do you want another drink or somethin' to eat while I'm up?" He asks her, stroking her hair and jaw gently.

"Maybe some wine each? Please?" She replies as he heads to the door to lock up.

"One each or one to share?" He asks as he heads to the kitchen.

"One each, we might need them" she tells him, making him feel even more apprehensive about this talk.

When he comes back with the two glasses of wine he adds a little wood to the fire and then turns to her.

"Where would you like me?" He asks, sounding as worried as he feels.

"I'd like us both sat on the floor in front of the fire please" she answers, before slipping off the sofa and onto the floor, moving to sit on the huge thick fur rug she has in front of the fire.

Eliot comes and sits near to her, on her right, almost next to her but with a little gap, just in case she wants space from him, his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, she looks over to him, giving him a sad smile, thinking he's left the gap because he wants some space from her.

"Ok..., what happened earlier? I've seen you angry before, I've seen you ready to _literally_ kill, and your eyes have only ever been blue or gold, today they were red! You _growled_ at me and Sarah, you _scared_ her! And you hurt yourself! What is goin' on?" She begs him for answers.

"I don't know, I felt different, I was seein' everythin' through a red lens, a red tint over everythin', and all I wanted was to... _**KILLTEARREND**_... I've never felt like that... I was scared i'd hurt you both, that's why I ran, but I know now I wouldn't have, if I was goin' to kill indiscriminately I would have killed the pup, but as soon as I heard him whimperin' and could smell him and his blood I snapped out of it. It all happened because of the things He threatened Sarah with, I just can't control my anger that she's had to live in fear like that... like..." he stammers to a stop.

"Like you did?" She finishes for him.

"He would have got worse, if he'd been left in charge of her care, he'd have been beatin' and torturin' her by the time she was ten..." Eliot stops to take a huge gulp of his wine and a few deep breaths "I can't talk about this anymore, I'm sorry, but we'll ask your dad about it tomorrow night, ok?"

"Ok, but I want you to _promise_ you won't do that again, that you won't run off when you're angry or upset without talkin' about it first, I had to sit here and worry about whether you were goin' to bother comin' back at all, once I found your key left outside, I can't cope with worryin' like that, I need to know you'll always be coming back, that you love me enough to stay, even when you're pissed off" she tells him, tears standing in her eyes at the thought of him leaving without a word and never coming back.

"I _promise_ I won't run off like that again, not unless I believe your life is in danger from me, and if I do run I promise on my life, I will always come home to you, but I'll always try to talk it out first, on my wolf, on my life" he swears to her, swearing on the only things that mean something to him that are not someone else's life.

"You broke Sarah's heart tonight, you'd promised to take her runnin', but you disappeared so she couldn't go out, she was _devastated_ , you have to make it up to her" she tells him, making him feel sick that he's upset their daughter so badly.

"I will, I have an idea what I'll do, but I can't tell you what, is that ok?" He asks.

"So long as Parker isn't teachin' her to jump off high things it's fine" she says with a crooked smile.

"Anythin' else? While we're at it?" He asks, knowing he's asking for trouble but deciding he'd rather get it over with now.

"I'm sorry about your jaw, and overreactin' about you panickin' later and shoutin' at you, oh yeah, and you were right my ankle was broken, I should have listened to you" she blurts out, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"Oh no, darlin'" he says, picks up her right hand and interlaces the fingers of his left hand with it, then turns her head to face him with the fingertips of his right hand under her chin, looking into her eyes intensely all the time he's speaking "my jaw was not your fault, you had a flashback because of somethin' I did, you swingin' at me was pure self defence instinct, you can't be blamed for that, you _didn't_ overreact about my hurtin' you and forgettin', I called you a liar, which you're not, and I forgot somethin' that is so, so, important to us both, and I'm sorry about that, I always will be, and yes, you should have listened about your ankle, so there!" He finishes, sticking his tongue out at her childishly, making her laugh and shake her head at him.

As she laughs he slides his right hand around the side of her neck and pulls her to him so he can kiss her, gently and slowly, still holding her hand, which is resting on her knee, after a while Eliot feels Jayda's broken arm slip across his waist, coming to rest with the cast covering her fingers on his side, gently trying to pull him closer to her, he shuffles closer to her, sliding his hand down from her neck, onto her breast, cupping and squeezing through her pajamas, making her moan into their kiss.

After a few minutes of caresses and kissing Jayda increases the intensity of her kisses, causing Eliot to lower his hand to her waist and pull her gently towards him, she takes his encouragement and runs with it, swinging her leg over his lap and sitting high on his thighs, not the most comfortable position with her lower legs in casts, but worth it to be close to him, he pulls her hips towards him with both hands, holding her as tight against him as he can get her, letting her feel how much the kissing and caressing has affected him, kissing down the centre of her throat as she rises on her knees to press up against him tighter, his hands now flat against her spine, one above the other, holding her against him as his mouth reaches the top of her cleavage, licking and sucking at her skin, nipping at the flesh over the top of her breasts, making her press forwards towards his mouth, her hands on his shoulders, tipping her head back and curving her spine, grinding herself against the hardness hidden by his blanket.

He brings his right hand forward, using the other to continue to support her as she bends back, still pressing her breasts against his mouth, he uses his now free hand to start undoing the buttons of her pajama shirt, uncovering more skin for him to kiss and mark, once all the buttons are undone he strips the shirt off her shoulder, bringing her upright so he can bite along her collarbone and lick at the scars on her shoulder and bicep, making her shudder in his arms, before he pulls the top off her arm completely and uses it to drag it down off her right arm too, leaving her in just her spaghetti strap vest top, which is already falling off her shoulders and down her arms, only the tightness of the top stopping it from dropping off her breasts altogether.

He pulls back from her skin, looking up at her and asking "what are the meanin's of these scars? Can you tell me now?" Before pulling her down into a loving kiss that becomes more heated the longer it goes on for, when it finally ends they pull back from each other, breathless and looking into each other's eyes, Jayda takes a deep breath before answering "the snowflake is in memory of Moscow, our perfect night together, the night you... you took my virginity, without pain, with only pleasure, the one on my bicep,... it's the outline of Sarah's foot when she was born, to remember how perfect she was, how perfect our love made her, I thought that there would never be any more children for me, and that i'd never see you again, and even if I did, I thought you'd hate me for what I've done, sneakin' out on you and havin' your child without tellin' you, so these were my way of havin' a small piece of those two important people and times with me always, so that's what they mean..., are you angry?" She asks, feeling his hardness wilting as she talks to him, looking fearfully down at the pants of her pajamas, silently counting the stars on them to keep her nervousness under control.

"I'm not angry, darlin', I just didn't like the idea of brandin', but I've had a chance to look at them and touch them, and they are truly _beautiful_ , thank you for tellin' me what they mean.... just,... what you said about... in Moscow, that first time... was there really no pain at all?" He asks, surprised by this little admission and stroking his ego a bit with the knowledge.

"None at all, I felt.... it's hard to explain... I felt the... _tear_?... no tear sounds too harsh, I felt the... _break_... but it didn't hurt, I was so high on pleasure just from you kissin' me, touchin' me and playin' with my clit and lips that I don't think I would have felt a broken bone right then, let alone a tiny... _breach_... like that, I love the way you made love to me that night..." she says, leaning into him to kiss him, feeling him get hard again underneath her, making her grind down onto him again.

"You liked it that much?" He murmurs against her lips, between kisses.

"Yes..." she answers, the word trailing off into a quiet moan.

"Well then, how about I do it again?" He asks, gripping the back of her neck and tightening his arm around her waist, before moving and laying her down on her back in the middle of the fur rug, right in front of the fireplace, she raises her eyebrows at him in question and he smiles down at her answering "so you don't get cold..." making her smile softly back at him.

He pulls back from being over her, gliding his hands down her body, catching the waistband of her pajama pants along the way and pulling them down her legs and off over her casts, he sees her press her thighs together briefly in fear reaction to being vulnerable in that way, but she quickly forces herself to relax, her knees parting again, he crawls back up over her until he's able to kiss her sweetly asking "is this ok? We don't have to do this"

"No it's fine, it's way better than fine, it's what I want, just,... for tonight can we lock the wolf out and just let me have Eliot the man for my lover? _Please_?" She begs him, raising up to kiss him tenderly.

"Anythin' for you, Jade" he whispers in her ear, using the name he hasn't used since he was six and could finally pronounce her name right, she lays back down on the floor, looking up at him "why...?" She asks.

"Because I'm the only one who ever called you that, it's our private special little thing, and you're more precious to me than jade was to the oriental emperors" he smiles as her eyes go a little wide at his words, knowing she was touched by them, before adding "and when I made you my very first REAL promise, that was the name I promised it to, do you remember?"

She wets her lips staring up into his eyes and nods, she thinks she knows what he's talking about, but they've never spoken about that night since it happened, but seeing the ghost of pain in his eyes she knows she's right, so she replies "we were five years old, it was the middle of the night, the police brought you to our house because they didn't know what to do, you kept Changin' because you were upset and scared and you didn't have control over it yet, but I heard all the noise and saw the flashin' lights, so I got up and as soon as you saw me you calmed down some, you came to me and hugged me, wouldn't let go in fact, and stopped Changin' back and forth, so they decided to leave you with us, dad put us to bed together and after he went you told me what had happened, what your dad had done, what he'd made you watch, and then you promised me 'ain't _never_ gonna let him hurt you Jade, gonna love you and protect you til my dyin' day' and I started to cry because I was so upset about what had happened to you and that you thought I was the one in danger, so you gave me a hug and I hugged you back, wanting to protect you from that monster just like you wanted to protect me, we fell asleep like that, and were woken in the mornin' by him draggin' you out of my arms and the bed, screamin' threats and curses, it was days until you came back to school, and you had a black eye when you did, that was the first time he beat you, wasn't it?" She asks at the end, finally getting the chance to ask.

"Yeah it was, but that ain't important, what is is that promise I made, because that? _That_ was when we became Bonded, became _soulmates_ , so me callin' you Jade will always be special, be a way of tellin' you just how much and how long I've loved you, and I _always_ will" he tells her, her mouth opening in shock until he leans down and kisses her.

As they kiss he pulls the waist of her vest top up and works it over her large breasts, then he breaks their kiss so he can pull back a little, lifting her slightly so he can pull it off over her head and arms, once he's thrown it onto the sofa he lays her back down again, laying gently over her, kissing her softly, being careful not to rest his weight on her, she has just had surgery after all, no matter how well she is healing.

He runs his hand through the top of her hair, trailing it down over her ear and then cupping her neck as he continues down to what is now a bright white, raised slightly, scar of their new Mating Bond bite, showing that they are forever tied together in their souls, he runs his finger feather softly over the shape of the scar, outlining it, memorising it, knowing it was a part of them both now.

She breaks away from their kiss, breathless, to ask "is that the Matin' bite? Did it scar the same way it does on the were's?"

"Yeah, bright white, raised up, really visible against your skin, is it sensitive? I've head them say it can be hyper sensitive and... _erogenous_ sometimes" he can't help but ask.

"Well when you just stroked over it..., lets just say, _yes_ , I had a reaction of that type" she answers, blushing lightly, the evidence mostly hidden by the firelight.

"really?" He whispers on a breath, the movement of the air against her neck making the fine hairs stand up "well what about when I do this..." he asks, gently scraping his teeth over the scar, making her arch up against him and shiver, while he feels an answering shiver run through his own body, reacting to the feeling of phantom teeth against his own neck, his cock twitching at the sensation, thanks to the Bond.

"Do you like it?" He asks, sucking at the edge of the raised line of the scar, making her raise her hips against him and grip the back of his neck tightly, trying to pull him closer.

"Gods _yes_!" She tells him, breathless and panting, her nipples standing rock hard from her breasts, begging for his attentions.

"Good to know..." he whispers breathily right into her ear, before lowering his head and licking at each of her nipples in turn, before sucking, biting and... gnawing at them gently, oh so gently, making her squirm, rubbing her shoulders against the fur rug as she wriggles.

"Oh! Eliot!" She cries out quietly as he rubs at her folds softly through her shorts, feeling how wet she is for him by how soaked the fabric is, he can smell her excitement, and the blood of their loss, making him pause for just a second in sorrow before kissing her with even more passion, as a sign of defiance against death and a hope for future life, before thinking of something new he can try out.

"Jade, can you wait here for me, just for a minute, please?" He begs, looking down at her as he sits up.

"What's wrong?" She asks, starting to rise too until he stops her by pushing back down on her shoulder, laying her out on her back again.

"I just need to go grab somethin', I'll be less than a minute, and I want you to rub yourself for me while I'm gone, no usin' the ring, just rubbin', will you do that for me?" He requests, while letting his eyes rove over her body, laid out like a feast for him, the sight making him gently rub himself, easing a little of the need spiralling inside of him.

"Yes, I'll do that,.... is everythin' ok?" She asks quietly, not knowing what's so important he has to leave right now, in the middle of this.

"Everythin's fine, I just remembered something I wanted to do" he tells her "Right get started, I'll be back in under a minute!"

As he hops to his feet and sprints across the room and into the kitchen, she watches him go, then closes her eyes and concentrates on rubbing herself, how it will feel to have him watch her, how maybe one day she could have him watch and pleasure himself, until he spills all over her body, marking her in that most primal of ways, she shivers at the thought, her back arching upwards, making the press of her fingers against herself harder.

"Mmmm, what a picture you make" he says, sliding to his knees between hers, stroking himself in time with the movements of her hand as she opens her eyes and looks up at him with that _hunger_ in her eyes again.

"I want you" she tells him, licking her lips and speeding up her movements, watching him avidly as he continues to match her pace.

"How?" He asks simply, his free hand coming down to stroke her inner thighs.

"Like I told you, like Moscow" she answers, moving her hand and going to start pulling her shorts down.

"No, wait, not yet" he says, the fingers on her thigh suddenly being freezing cold, he'd gone and got some ice out of the freezer, palmed it with his thumb, and hidden it until he could shock her with it.

"You asshole!" She growls at him as he leans over her, letting go of his impressive erection to use that hand to hold himself up while he rubs the ice over and around her nipples, making them tighten and stand even harder, ready for his mouth to come suck on them tightly.

"Oh! OH! Yes!" She cries out, the feeling of her nipples being sucked so much more intense now.

"There's so much more I wanna do with this ice, but if I continue we're gonna end up going fast and hard, and I know that's not what you want, so let's come back to explorin' this another time, ok?" He says, throwing the ice into the fire, before kissing and licking the surgery scar below the gap between her breasts thoroughly.

Jayda doesn't answer, just uses the hand on the back of his neck to pull him up for a slow, passionate, loving kiss, whispering "I love you" against his lips, making him smile into the kiss.

"Love you too" he answers as they break apart, before sitting up on his knees and teasing at the waistband of her shorts, eventually hooking his fingers under it and sliding them down over her hips, until they are in line with where they rest over her mound, then he stops and grins down at her "this is somethin' I didn't do that night but that I hope you'll like enough to forgive my addin' it tonight" he says, reaching out to rub over the general area where her now hypersensitive clit is.

She looks up into his eyes, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, and smiles, lifting her hips into his touch and with a tip of her head tells him to go ahead, do whatever he has planned, so he knee-walks backwards a few feet and drops down onto his front on the rug, his nipples brushing it lightly but his erection grinding into it, looking for some kind of friction, he pushes his face against the crotch of her shorts, only the thin, stretchy, material between them, he can smell her and himself mixed together from their lovemaking earlier, her natural scent concentrated where it's been trapped in by the fabric, the smell making him crazy for her, he noses at her clit through the fabric, getting a moan in response, before licking firmly over the fabric over her entrance, making her shudder, which makes him grin against her, then he pulls back slightly, asking her "you ready for me to take these off?"

"Yes!" She moans out, lifting her hips to make it easier for him, excited even more by just the suggestion.

He leans forwards again and gently bites the top of her slit and her mound, his lower teeth just catching her clit and tugging the ring slightly, making her squeak out a little "oh!", then he pulls his bite away from her flesh, but keeps the fabric between his teeth tightly, so that he can start dragging it down her thighs without using his hands.

He lifts back up onto his knees, still with her shorts between his teeth, and lifts her legs until they're over his shoulders, giving him plenty of room to drag the shorts right down, or rather up, to her knees, at this point he switches to his hands and works them off over her casts, throwing them to join her vest on the sofa.

Once she's naked apart from the woolly socks she has on over her casts he lowers her ass back down onto the floor, but keeps her legs over his shoulders as he lays back down on his belly, parting her thighs with his fingertips making more room for himself, he dips his head, kissing at the very top of her slit, his tongue flicking out to just stroke the spot between her lips where they join together and become her mound, before he's stopped unexpectedly.

"El, wait! You can't... I mean... you shouldn't... not now... not with... you shouldn't lick me while I'm like this" she finally manages to stammer out after a deep breath in the middle, looking embarrassed, ashamed and sad all at the same time.

"Is it that you don't want me to, or that you think I shouldn't, that it's wrong to while... everythin' that's happenin'?" He asks her gently, stroking her thighs to try and relax her.

"The second one, I think, it just doesn't feel right for you to do it while I'm bleedin' out ou..." she explains, unable to finish her words as a gasp catches in her throat, looking anguished and embarrassed, tears evident in her voice.

"Then we'll save this for some other time, thank you, for tellin' me you wanted me to stop" he says, pulling himself up onto his knees again and lowering her legs on either side of him before leaning down and kissing her chastely where her lower lips overlap, hiding her entrance, before crawling upwards a little until he can kiss her mouth, slowly laying himself carefully over her, rubbing his now only half-hard dick against her thigh, his erection having suffered from the reminder of their miscarriage.

"You're beautiful, you know?" Eliot tells her, staring down into her violet eyes that he's seen smiling back at him in his dreams his whole life, wanting nothing more than to have her smile at him now.

"Look at you all southern charmin' me.... I won't fall for it you know, only those northern girls drop their panties and fall over with their legs in the air for a bit of a drawl..." she tells him, giving him his smile, which he replies to with a raised eyebrow, she was after all, pantyless, laid on her back and until a minute ago with her legs in the air.

"Oh, shut up!" She tells him upon realising this, rolling her eyes and adding "you needn't look so pleased with yourself!" Before pulling him down and kissing him hard.

He pulls back from the kiss, smiling "I mean it though, you are beautiful, and sexy, kind, lovin', thoughtful, you're everythin' I could ever _dream_ of wantin', I'm so glad you found me again..." he adds, leaning down over her to kiss her again, painfully slow and gentle to begin with before letting it evolve into something more passionate, something that burns within her heart and soul, making her need him, his arms around her, his lips on her skin, his love in her chest, keeping her safe and loved, always.

"I should have found you sooner" she whispers when their lips part, her pain clear in her voice.

"You tried, thats what matters" he tells her, kissing her again, still slowly, but with a passion behind it that sets her blood on fire, she slides her right hand down from his shoulder, along his side to his hip, pulling him against her thigh tighter, silently dismayed to find him only half-hard when he's showing her so much passion, so she changes her tactics, bringing her hand round from his hip and under until it's between her thigh and his length, cupping around his wide girth and stroking softly, just teasingly, but enough so that he can feel it.

"Why are you always in such a hurry? Hhmmm? Are you just so desperate for it to be over with?" He asks, mistaking her attempt to tease him back to hardness as her trying to 'hurry him along' as he called it earlier.

"NO! I'm not in a hurry for it to be over, ever! I just want you to enjoy it as much as I do! And right now I'm not tryin' to hurry you along, I'm just... uh... tryin' to get you... properly into it, you seem a little... _uninterested_... is all" she answers, realising too late that what she was saying was kinda hugely indelicate.

"That would have been sorted after a few minutes of kissin' and touchin' you, you know that I do want you, right?" He asks, looking down at her with concern in his gaze.

"Yes I know, I just worried i'd killed the mood and put you off is all, so I thought i'd try to get you interested again, if I could" she tells him, blushing bright enough for him to see even under the red firelight.

"Well I _am_ interested, and I'll be fully hard again soon, so don't worry about it, ok?" He tells her, stroking the side of her face before leaning down to nip at her neck, moving up until he's sucking at the skin under her ear, making her moan and squirm, but she carries on stroking him regardless, gripping him a little tighter and moving a little faster, teasing him purposefully now.

"You're gonna have to stop that" he rasps out a few minutes later, his voice going gravelly and rough, before grabbing her wrist tightly and drawing her hand up to above her head, where he pins it, fingers entwined, thumb rubbing over her palm teasingly.

"I want you" she tells him, whispering breathily into his ear.

"Not yet, but soon..." he promises, leaning down to give her a quick kiss before bringing his free hand, the one she'd had to bandage earlier, between their bodies and then between her legs, stroking her outer lips slowly, gently, before sliding his fingertip softly between them, running the length of her slit, parting her lips and giving him unfettered access to her most sensitive parts, gliding his fingers around her opening, wetting them in her arousal before bringing them back up towards the top of her sex, using her wetness on his fingers to lubricate his rubbing her clit, firmly but slowly, driving her mad.

He glides his finger around the edge of her clit a few times, making her squirm and moan, before gently taking hold of her clit and sliding the hood back, getting his fingertip just underneath it, rubbing the most hidden, sensitive part of her clit firmly and quickly, making her let out a cry climbing in pitch and volume, giving him no choice but to untangle his hand from hers and clamp it firmly over her mouth, saying "I can't let you wake Sarah, I can't let her see us doin' this" into her ear, never slowing or stopping his movements, her eyes wide above his hand, her throat still making the sound of her cry, muffled as it is, before it changes to an "ah, ah, AH!"

Just as the last sound leaves her throat he moves his fingers off her clit, leaving her suspended over the peak but unable to fall, then he so very gently rubs down either side of her opening, one finger down each inner lip and then around to meet together at the bottom, before slowly sliding them up into her and rubbing at her G-spot _hard_ , grinding over her clit with the heel of his hand, sending her flying out over the edge into her orgasm, soaking his hand and the bandages on his palm, screaming against his other hand as her head tips back in ecstasy.

Once her cry has died away he removes his hand from over her mouth, allowing her to pant and bite her lip, because he's still stroking inside of her gently, making the feelings of pleasure last even longer.

"Hey darlin', feelin' good? Anythin' you need?" He asks, kissing up her neck as he speaks, before kissing her lips passionately once he reaches them, finally he pulls back from the kiss, looking down at her and seeing her swollen, red lips, which makes him just want to kiss her again, but he waits, giving her a chance to answer.

"Hey, I'm feelin' amazin', and the only thing I need is you..." she says, pulling him down to kiss her again, his tongue sliding into her mouth immediately to stroke and tease hers, while pulling his hand back from inside her, circling her clit with his fingertips again before moving his hand to her hip, pulling her tightly against him while he thrusts himself along her thigh, showing her that he is indeed fully hard for her again, before holding onto her and rolling them until he's on his back with her sat above him, her wetness dripping out of her and onto his blood engorged cock, making him gasp then moan at the thought that she's that turned on and pleasured by him that her arousal drips out of her like rain, all he can think of right now is how much he wants to drag her up his body until she's sat on his face, demanding that he lick her and pleasure her until she cannot take anymore, then lay her down and have her for _hours_ , but she's asked him not to, so he saves the idea for another time, luckily while his mind is stuck on this mental scenario she takes control in a different way, tipping her hips and sliding down onto him, clenching around his sensitive head, making his hands shoot to her hips, gripping firmly, holding her tightly against him and grinding her backwards and forwards, stimulating her clit as well as her insides, making her moan again.

"Is that good?" He rasps out, sitting up so that he can get his mouth on her nipples, nipping at them with his elongated teeth and sucking on them, making them sensitive and red, some small trickles of blood forming before he swipes it away with his tongue, his mouth drawn back to sucking her nipples forcefully again by the taste of her on his lips and tongue, all the while using her hips to grind her down onto his pelvic bone and slide backwards and forwards along his dick.

"Oh! Yes! Feels so good, so sensitive! Bite me! Suck me harder! Please..." she begs, surprising him with her request for more pain, but happy to give her anything she wants, he sucks on one of her nipples harder, using as much suction as he can, while she grinds herself down onto his length, panting open mouthed above him, her unbroken hand driven deep into his sweat-tangled hair, gripping a handful, holding him against her, he pulls back a little for air and she snarls at him "I said BITE ME!" He looks up through his hair and eyelashes at her, seeing her eyes almost completely gold and her teeth extended, he realises that she's on the brink again, already, and leans back in, securing her unpierced nipple in his mouth and then biting her, hard, his teeth extended, puncturing the areola and nipple, pulling gently against the flesh to heighten the sensation before releasing it.

"Aaahhh!" She starts to shout out her orgasm, before bringing her head forward and driving her teeth into his shoulder, just next to where it joins his neck, still crying out but muffled by his flesh in her mouth, at the feel of her teeth sliding into his skin his hands convulse on her hips, gripping so tight that she'll have blue/black hand prints there in just half an hour, but he can't let go, it's like her bite is electrocuting him and his hands are locked until the current stops, he's powerless to do anything, all he can do is sit there with her tightening down on him like a velvet vise and experience the sensations in his body spinning from pain to pleasure and back again.

After just a couple of minutes she retracts her teeth, licking over the bite marks just as he does to her, eventually, when they seem to have slowed bleeding, if not stopped altogether, she says "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that! I... I just... it was instinct, I'm sorry!" Sounding heartbroken, and rests her face against his neck for a moment before sitting up straight again.

"It's ok darlin' I liked it,... I think... and it's about time you marked me too" he says smiling up at her, making her stare down at him in surprise.

"You're not mad?" She asks incredulously, her eyes wide open.

"Not at all, sweetheart, why would I be mad to finally have a Bond bite of my own? One that you gave me without my havin' to ask, totally from your own instinct, it's a gift worth more than almost anythin' else" he tells her with a soft smile as he strokes her back.

She suddenly dives back down and kisses him, knocking him back flat onto the floor heavily, but not slowing her conquering of his mouth for even a moment, even when his head slams her fingers into the hard floor where she has hold of his head through his hair. After a few moments she starts moving her hips against him again in a slow, grinding glide up and down his sensitive length, making him break the kiss.

"Hey we got off track, I was meant to be the one makin' love to you, and it was supposed to be about pleasure, not pain, so now it's my turn!" He says into her ear before grabbing her tightly and rolling them again until she's on her back, with him laid in the cradle of her hips, as she stares up at him.

"So what you gonna do now?" She asks him, stretching her arms above her head and curving her spine, pushing her breasts hard up against his chest, before he pushes back up a little, meaning he can see the bite mark over and through her nipple that he'd made, making him swell a little inside her with the wave of _ClaimedmarkedMine_ he feels.

"Mmmmm, I'm gonna do what I said I would, I'm gonna make love to you" he says, laying down over her again and sliding his hands up her arms until he can link the fingers of their uninjured hands together and grip the wrist of her cast with his right hand, using the gliding move along her body as the momentum for his first thrust into her, slowly pulling back before repeating the slow thrust forward again and again, his length slowly rubbing over her hypersensitive clit with every move.

"That good?" He asks, kissing at her ear and neck before coming back to kissing her lips, just as slowly and gently as he's thrusting into her, his tongue only teasing at her lips and the very tip of her tongue, his mouth moving slowly against hers, while his thrusts remain at a matching slow pace, but with the angle changing slightly every few minutes, trying to find which one drove her wild.

"Ooohhhh, better than good, Mmmm.... more, there!" She answers him, letting him know that she was liking the angle he'd just shifted to, before lifting her head slightly to start kissing him again only deeper and more passionately, the sweat on their bodies acting as a lubricant between their chests, meaning her nipples were rubbing backwards and forwards against his chest hair, giving her another new sensation, heightening the feelings rushing through her body, the occasional sharp zap from her clit, the rubbing of her nipples, especially the bitten one, making her tighten down around him, his kisses leaving her breathless and lightheaded and his thrusting building a pressure inside of her, making her channel more sensitive and her clit buzz and hum as his length rubs over it constantly.

"Oh!" She cries out, putting her legs around his waist, tightening her hold on him and pulling him against her hard so that she can lift herself and grind against him as he thrusts into her, making the feeling of pressure and sensations from her clit intensify exponentially, bringing her closer to the edge.

"Eliot! I.... " she starts, unable to find words to tell him how this feels, like her heart or soul or _something_ is inflating inside of her and it's going to keep expanding until it breaks her wide open, letting everything inside her pour out.

"What is it baby? What do you need?" He asks, knowing instinctively that this is something important.

"I... I.... I need _you_ , need you to make me cum, need you to fill me! Need to... to... _explode_! _Please_..." she answers, the last word coming out as a rising pitch whine.

At the sound of the desperation in her voice he looks down into her eyes, he knows it's been over an hour and a half since he rolled them over, and he sees she's at the limit of her overstimulation, that she can't take anymore of this slow pace, so he speeds up a little, not too much, just enough to start her moving towards the finish a little faster.

"Better?" He asks before leaning down and kissing her passionately, not actually allowing her to answer as he speeds up his thrusts a little more and starts adding a lot more force to them, meaning his pelvis now hammers her clit each time he thrusts into her while his cock hammers and slides over her g-spot continuously, making her break their kiss so that she can pant, groan and moan all at the same time, the sound climbing in volume the closer she gets to cumming.

"You gotta be quiet baby, or do I need to stop you again?" He asks, still worried about Sarah hearing them.

"I.. I can't... can't keep it in, please stop me..." she answers, knowing she's going to scream like never before when she cums.

At her words he clamps his hand back over her mouth, leaving her unbroken hand finally free to grab at his shoulder and neck, before scoring down his back with her nails leaving bleeding furrows in his skin, then digging them into his ass, pulling him even harder against herself, forcing him to speed up his thrusts, all while making noises of desperation behind his hand.

The feeling of her nails in his skin and the sound of her muffled cries of desperation are enough to make his control over himself crack, he stops holding back and hammers into her as fast and hard as he can, chasing both their finishes, wondering who would get there first, but he's underestimated just how close to the edge Jayda is, and within a minute of his no longer holding back he feels her begin to tighten, so he pulls to the right position to just ram at her g-spot repeatedly, before thrusting in all the way as hard as he can, sending her hurtling over the edge, her muscles squeezing down so suddenly and tightly that he's unable to move for a few moments, even with all the natural lubricant inside her, her scream behind his hand so loud he worries he's hurt her, even as he's unable to stop himself from thrusting a few last times until he convulses over her, whisper-growling "I love you" into her ear, cumming deep inside her as she tightens down on him again, forcing him to cum so strongly he blacks out for just a moment, coming back just in time to see her burst into chest-heaving sobs as he moves his hand away from her mouth.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" He asks, pulling out of her slowly so he can lay next to her and wrap his arms around her, pulling her head onto his chest while she wraps her arms around her own body, within his hold.

She shakes her head at his question but continues to cry and sob for a long time, although after a few minutes she stops hugging herself and starts hugging him around his chest.

Once she's finally calmed down to sniffles, hiccups and more gentle tears he says quietly "Jay, honey, tell me what's wrong" giving her a little squeeze and a kiss on the top of her head.

"I... I... I don't know what's makin' me be like this! You didn't hurt me, it was so perfect... felt _SO_ perfect, so good, and there was this _pressure_... behind my solar plexus, and when I came it... it was like my chest cracked open and everythin' just poured out... I feel so totally _empty_ now, like a scraped clean jack o' lantern, I feel so... _exhausted_ , but so full of love, for you, I've always loved you but I've never felt like this, it's... kinda scary" she explains, sure he won't understand but trying anyway, wanting him to know the crying hadn't been necessarily a bad thing, just a sign of her emotions letting go, being purged.

"Are you ok now?" He asks, his voice full of nothing but concern and love.

"I think so, I'm sorry I ruined it..." she starts before he speaks over her.

"You didn't ruin anythin'! I was just worried about you, scared i'd hurt you, but if you're ok that's all that matters" he tells her, smiling down into her upturned face before getting a tight grip on her and pulling her up so her face was on level with his, leaning across to kiss her slowly and gently, but still passionately, showing her his love for her.

After a time of holding each other and kissing Eliot pulls back, brushing stray hairs out of Jayda's face and saying "we should go to bed, you need to sleep to heal, and so do I, for a bit anyway, you ready to go up?"

"Not yet, I want you to lay here and hold me for a while longer first" she requests, snuggling up against his side and resting her cheek on his shoulder, kissing the ridge of his collarbone.

"Ok, just for a little bit longer, after all it's not like we can't cuddle up in bed" he gives in.

"Not like this we can't, not with Sarah here, I need to feel your skin against me..." she explains, making his spent cock twitch hopefully and start to rise at the thought that she wants them being totally skin to skin, much to his frustration at his own body.

Since they would be staying here a while and the fire was burned quite far down he reaches over and grabs one of the blankets, spreading it out over them, making sure Jayda is fully covered, to keep them warm, and they lay there just holding each other, both thinking and talking of the future.


	24. The morning after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Jayda discover more intimacy issues between them, then Eliot, Quinn and Sarah make plans for the day, while Jayda looks forward to a day of peace and quiet at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So since I'm posting a new chapter you all know I've managed to write the Parker/Hardison scene, I'm not sure it's good, or even that it flows properly, but it is written, while I've been writing it I've also written the next chapter after it (twenty eight), so expect 'two hitters, a little genius and a mall ten days before Christmas' part one soon, and if I can belt out the next chapter as easily as chapter twenty eight then part two shouldn't be far behind.
> 
> I hope you'll all continue enjoying this story, even if I do fail with chapter twenty seven, in the meantime I hope y'all like this chapter!
> 
> Enjoy darlin's

ELIOT/JAYDA/QUINN

Eliot is awoken by a rock-hard blow to the solar plexus, feeling like he just hit a concrete bollard at high speed chest first, followed by a scream of pain.

Instantly he's awake and moving, up into a crouch over Jayda, teeth bared, growling, within moments he's scanned the room, realised there are no attackers and has put together what happened.

"Jay, shhh, hush, it's ok, I'm here, you're safe at home, what were you dreamin' about?" He says breathlessly, still trying to catch his breath after the blow he took, wrapping her in his arms and sitting next to her, his legs splayed out to either side of her, letting him enfold her and make her feel sheltered, protected and safe.

"I... it... it... it was durin' the... the storm... but... but he... he... he brought your... your bod... body in and lay... laid you dow... down in front of me! Your eyes were op... open and you would... would have been watchin'... if you had still... still been ali... alive, watchin' what he... he did to me... and he made... ma... made me look at you... while he... he... while he _fucked_ my ass...." she tells him sobbing and stammering the whole way through, the end coming out almost like a quiet mournful howl.

"And you were fightin' back, right?" He asks, knowing now that she hit out in her sleep, trying to protect herself in her dream.

"I couldn't let him do it... couldn't let him f... _fuck_ me while you watched... I just couldn't... I needed to close your eyes... so you were only _sleepin_ '... not... not... d... d... " she explains, not able to bring herself to say the last word, breaking down into harsh sobs again instead.

"Did you hurt your wrist again?" He inquires, noticing the way she's holding it cradled near to her chest gently, reaching out a hand and taking hold of the wrist of the cast gently, finding that part of the side of the wrist and hand areas of it are shattered from the blow.

"Mommy? Daddy? Is everything ok?" Sarah says, standing at the foot of the stairs, watching them both wide-eyed with worry.

"Oh! Heya bug! Did we wake you up?" Eliot says, still holding Jayda against himself and very aware that they are both naked, covered in dry sweat and also a small amount of dried cum.

"I heard mommy scream and then start crying, I thought someone was hurting her, why didn't you come to bed last night?" She explains, then asks a question of her own.

"We meant to but we fell asleep in front of the fire accidentally, sorry bug" he answers, opening his freer arm out to offer her a hug.

"Daddy? You smell funny" she tells him once he's hugging her, giving him an appraising look before asking "is that a sex smell?" Making his face, neck and chest flame in embarrassment as he closes his eyes so he doesn't have to look her in the eye.

"Yeah bug, it is, but it's not right to talk about it or point it out to any adult, it's bad manners, the only time you should talk about it is if you smell it on someone under eighteen, then you should tell a grown up, because people under eighteen aren't allowed to have sex, the person doin' it to them is a criminal who needs to be stopped, because it's hurtin' the person they're doin' it to, ok?" He explains, blushing brighter with every word, while Jayda laughs quietly and a bit wetly in his arms.

"Ok daddy" she answers, losing interest now it's been explained and snuggling into Jayda's side, trying to comfort her by being familypackhome.

"Ok ladies, time to go shower, then I'll make breakfast ok?" Eliot decrees, trying to figure out how both he and Jayda are going to end up wrapped in blankets without Sarah being witness to his morning erection, because he _**so**_ doesn't want to have that talk this morning too.

"Are you gonna shower with me daddy?" Sarah asks, making Eliot even more aware of his excited state.

"Not today bug, today you've got to help Jay for me while you shower and then I'll help her while I do and you're gettin' dressed, ok?" He improvises an idea to try to get around this.

"But daddy...." Sarah starts, ready to argue, when there's a knock on the door.

"Can you answer that for me bug?" Eliot asks, Jayda still snuggled down naked in his arms giving the occasional sniffle from under their blanket.

"Ok!" Sarah chirps, sounding a lot happier than she had up until then.

"Daddy Quinn!" She shouts, jumping into his arms and hanging from his neck as he staggers in through the doorway from the unexpected 'attack', raising an eyebrow at the view of Eliot's bare ass he gets before walking around the sofa and facing him, smirking as he puts Sarah back down.

"Nice view" he says, just to see Eliot blush, and he's not disappointed by the results.

"Dammit Quinn! You shouldn't be lookin'!" Eliot growls at him his eyebrows drawing down in displeasure.

"I need you to take Sarah upstairs and get her ready for the shower, ok?" He asks, knowing Quinn will get why he's being asked.

"W... what?!... I... I... you can't mean... it's not right... I'm not..." Quinn stammers along looking as uncomfortable as Eliot had ever seen, and he's seen Quinn's face after he's been the back end of a pantomime horse when the front end (Hardison) had been eating Eliot's extra spicy rut-chilli for two days (Eliot has to remember to thank Sophie for arranging that one).

"Quinn! It's ok, you're her daddy now, there's nuthin' wrong with helpin' her get ready, or just watchin' her to make sure she's ok, hell, if you can convince her to go in the shower on her own I'll _kiss_ you!" Jayda overrides his objections, reassuring him that they trust him and they know he'd never do anything to hurt Sarah.

"Ok then, c'mon Sweetheart" he says starting to usher her to the stairs, but instead of heading for the stairs she runs to Eliot, standing right next to him and wrapping her arms around his neck and whispering in his ear.

After a few moments Eliot pulls his head back a little and looks at her "are you sure?" He asks her seriously and at her decisive nod he shrugs and says "of course he can then!" Before she runs back, takes Quinn's hand and says "you can call me bug too if you like, since you're my daddy too, if you want to" shyly looking up at him.

At her words he kneels down, puts his hands gently on her shoulders and says "i'd be honoured to, thank you" before pulling her in for a hug and speaking to Eliot over her shoulder "thank you to you as well, El" before picking her up as he stands and climbing the stairs with her.

"Hey! The little shower room if she goes in alone! Ok?" Eliot yells after him, getting a thumbs up in reply just before Quinn gets too far up the stairs for it to be visible.

"Why did you.... ooohhhhh" Jayda begins to ask before feeling the erection rubbing up against the back of her hip, hard.

"Lets go have soapy cuddles and touches in the big shower, yeah?" He asks breathily into her ear.

"Mmmm.... hell yeah!" She replies, reaching back to stroke him but being stopped by his gripping her wrist firmly.

"Into the shower first, then the touchin', ok?" He whispers into the side of her neck before nipping her ear with his teeth, making her whine just a little as he moves away and grabs a different blanket and wraps it around his waist firmly, before bending over and hoisting her into his arms, still wrapped in the blanket they slept under.

"Ok" she answers resignedly, not really having much choice.

Once Eliot has carried her up the stairs, sounding a little breathless, they come across a blanket wrapped Sarah in the hallway with Quinn, heading for the smaller bathroom.

"Hey Quinn, i'll lay out some clothes for Sarah on the bed, or I'll leave them on the window seat if you wanna take her down to dry and dress in front of the fire, we might be a while since I gotta cover Jay's casts and stuff, is that ok?" Eliot asks, getting a smirk from Quinn when he explains why they might be a while.

"Yeah it's fine, leave the clothes out here and I'll take her down, try not to take too long, ok?" Quinn replies, smiling, before winking at Eliot to let him know he knew what they were going to be up to.

"Yes we'll be as quick as we can!" Eliot tells him, shaking his head before heading into the bedroom and pushing the door closed behind him.

Now that they were alone Eliot dips his head forwards, kissing Jayda passionately as he walks to the bed before putting her down gently, breaking the kiss he says "give me two minutes to sort out clothes for Sarah ok?" When she nods in reply he heads out to the hallway and the boxes of clothes, picking out an outfit for Sarah before leaving it neatly folded on the window seat and slipping back into the bedroom.

When he comes back in he finds Jayda cocooned in her blanket, looking just like Sarah had that first night she stayed with him, making him smile over how alike his girls are, even though Sarah wasn't raised by Jayda.

"Hey darlin', you snug over there?" He asks as he heads for the bathroom door, smiling gently at her.

"Be better if you were cuddlin' with me..." she answers, smiling back at him, opening her arms (and her blanket) out to him in a 'come cuddle me' gesture.

"After the shower, once we're dressed and downstairs, ok?" He replies, shaking his head gently as he passes out of her sight into the bathroom.

After a couple of minutes he comes back out, minus his blanket and finds her wrapped up cocoon style again.

"C'mon big bug, time for the shower" he says to her, taking her into his arms and carrying her through to the bathroom, where he has arranged a towel on the counter again with the duct tape and trash sacks next to it.

"Aaaawwwww, I forgot about the tape, do we have to?" She says sounding petulant even to her own ears.

"Yes we gotta, your bones'll be healed real soon and then we won't need to, just give it another coupla days and we'll take you to get them re-x-rayed ok?" He promises while he sets her down on the towel, hating to tell her no over anything.

"Alright then" she says quietly, sounding deeply depressed.

"You ok princess?" He asks, seriously worried by how she sounds.

"Yeah, just I feel really weird and hot, and on top of that nightmare.... hang on, how did you know I had a bad dream? You woke me up askin' what my dream was about... how?" She replies, looking confused and upset.

"Well you know your wrist is hurtin' again?" He asks going over to the light switch and flicking it on to brighten the room "well you kinda got me in the solar plexus with it" he finishes, turning towards her so she could see the just forming bruise over his chest and upper abdomen, still pale but with the promise to get a lot worse.

"Oh my god! Eliot! Why didn't you tell me sooner? You shouldn't have been carryin' or liftin' me with that! you'll make it even worse!" She cries, making 'come here' gestures so that she can examine it up close.

"I'm ok, it's just a bruise, it'll be gone by this time tomorrow..." he tells her, suffering her examination without complaining to assuage her guilt a little.

Since she mentioned feeling off and too hot, while she examines him, he puts his hand to her head to check her temperature, as a half-were she shouldn't get sick with anything except extreme poisoning or silver poisoning, he's worried to find that her temperature is in the realms of fever, well over 100 degrees, which female were's don't even reach when in heat, and she's not sweating at all, he decides he'll keep an eye on her and if she's no better by the time Diwali arrives he'll get him to check her out, as for all he knows this could be a sign her cycle is changing to heats, or that she's going into her first heat out of sync with him making it worse for her.

"C'mon then, feet, so I can bag your legs" he says, tickling along her thighs.

"El! Don't tickle me! Or I'll get you back for it!" She says laughing, making him smile at hearing her laugh.

"Oh yeah? What you gonna do?" He taunts her, tickling her more just to be perverse.

"When you least expect it I'll pin you down and tickle your feet, I'm assumin' you still hate that?" She says smugly.

"Oh... you wouldn't dare!" He answers, grabbing her ass and pulling her to the edge of the counter and grinding up against her while he kisses her breathless.

"Try me!" She gasps out when their kiss breaks, pulling him back to her with a handful of his hair, kissing him with a passion that matches his own.

"Maybe some other time...." he mutters as he pulls back, grabbing the roll of trash sacks as he does.

"C'mon, legs! Lets get you packaged and in the shower" he says more normally, grabbing one of her legs and pulling it up until her foot rests in the middle of his chest, just above his bruise.

"Packaged? What am I? Someone's Christmas present?" She asks indignantly.

"Yep, you're mine, best Christmas present anyone could ever ask for!" He tells her as he wraps and tapes up her first cast.

"You soppy bastard...." she murmurs quietly, reaching out to stroke his cheek softly.

"Don't tell anyone, it's a secret!" He whispers to her, smiling.

"You keep tellin' yourself that..." she answers, then watches him wrap up the second cast.

"Ok, gimme your arm, then shower, ok?" He tells her, having her battered, casted arm laid gently into his hands a moment later.

Once he's finished he lifts Jayda down from the counter and onto her feet, letting her wobble her way into the shower before hanging some towels up and following her in, coming up behind her under the spray and snaking his arms around her waist, her casted hand coming to rest over his linked ones while her right hand comes up and slides into his still tangled hair, encouraging him to kiss and nip at her neck and shoulder.

"Mmmm, yeah... feels so nice... love you" Jayda moans out, rubbing her ass against his hard dick, encouraging him to grind against her, within moments he's doing just that, letting her feel him swelling further, getting even harder and thicker as she turns him on more.

After a few minutes of grinding Jayda asks him "El? You're not in rut anymore are you?" As she turns in his arms to face him so she can kiss him slowly.

"No, I'm not, why what's up?" He answers, his hands moving down to grip her ass firmly so he can pull her tight against him as he rubs against her.

"Just makin' sure" she answers before slowly getting down onto her knees, over his objections, and taking hold of him, stroking him gently, feeling like more of a tease than real stimulation.

"Jay, you're not in any fit state to be doin' this..." Eliot starts, cutting off when she gently pulls his foreskin back and licks over his head, the tip of her tongue pressing into the slit at the tip as she licks again, making him moan rather loudly.

"Do I need to find somethin' to gag _you_ with now?" She asks, tightening her grip ever so slightly and stroking her hand along his length.

"No, you don't, cheeky wench, I'm perfectly abl... OOOOHHHHH!" Eliot cries out in surprise as she quickly takes him into her mouth, until she's about halfway down his length, sucking furiously at him while stroking his balls.

He looks down at her, knowing it's a bad idea for his stamina, but just not able to resist seeing her on her knees with his cock in her mouth again, and what does he see? Violet eyes looking back up at him, begging for approval and encouragement as she continues to lick, suck and occasionally gently nip his cock, all while working him deeper into her mouth with every bob of her head.

"Gods Jay... you don't gotta do this..." he says, trying his hardest to hold back from thrusting into her mouth, trying to make her believe him.

"But I wanna, you know how long I've dreamed of this..." she pulls off him to say before engulfing him again, his held back moan coming out as more of a squeak in surprise, convincing him to let her have her own way, finding he has barely any ability to say no to her, as well as Sarah.

He carries on watching her as she takes him deeper and deeper into her mouth, until she's about three quarters of the way down his length before giving in to his instincts and sliding his hand into her wet hair, cupping the back of her skull at first with the palm of his hand, but slowly tightening his grip until he's holding her by a handful of hair tightly at the back of her head, moving her how he wants with it.

While he does this Jayda's hand disappears from his balls, making him open his eyes that had drifted closed at some point, looking down at her, seeing her hand between her own legs, obviously rubbing hard at her clit, her whole arm and shoulder moving with her hand, seeing this, knowing she's enjoying doing this so much, brings him hurtling toward the edge, desperate to fill her with his cum, but he bites his bottom lip, hard, using the pain to help him hold back, wanting the sight of her cumming to be what pushes him over the edge, but he's so close he just can't stay still, slowly and gently starting to rock his hips towards her as he moves her head, not trying to push in any further, just add a little movement, give a little more feeling of control.

Then while he watches, her eyes start trying to close, but she's fighting it, coming back to looking into his eyes after every flutter, obviously wanting to share what's she's feeling with him, so he opens the Bond wide, instantly feeling the huge build up of _pressure_ inside of her chest, making his ache too, and the pleasure spiralling around it, wrapping it in tendrils that just make it all feel even more _intense_ , pulling him even closer to the edge of his own orgasm, at the same time her eyes open even wider, and he feels a vibration in his cock, as she starts trying to moan or shout out her pleasure with her mouth still full of him, and he feels as she hits her orgasm, her shout getting louder and higher in pitch, then everything contracting inwards before _exploding_ outwards, like a sun going super nova.

At the feeling of her pleasure through the Bond he's ready to join her, and he pulls back before plunging into her mouth, holding her head still with an iron grip on her hair, thrusting half a dozen times before suddenly thrusting harshly all the way forwards, down into her throat, cutting off her air as he starts to cum, the first spurt forcing its way down her throat.

At the same moment he again opens his eyes, realising he'd closed them without meaning to, instantly seeing the panic in her eyes and on her face as she pushes him forcefully back by the hipbone, falling backwards onto her ass as he stumbles back a step, putting his hand to the wall to catch himself as his second and third spurts land over her face, hair and body, before she turns to the side and throws up, gagging up his cum and last nights red wine while he drops heavily to his knees on the tiles behind her, holding her shoulder with one hand and her hair back with the other, until she shakes him off and coughs out "GET AWAY!!!"

Eliot instantly pulls his hands back and leans backwards away from her, but he doesn't move, wanting to be near her if she needs him, she seems to have stopped throwing up, just coughing, gagging and shaking now, her arm wrapped across her stomach as she wheezes in breaths, before saying, sounding both distressed and tearful "I said _get away_ , now!"

At her words he shuffles back until he's about two feet away from her, then stands, biting his lip before asking "what happened?"

"Do you _need_ to ask? That fantasy has been forever ruined for me now, because of... of what they... why did you _do_ that?!" She starts out tonelessly, before starting to cry and stammer, and then finishing with a teary shout.

"I asked because _I don't know_ , from what you just said I can guess at your answer, why did I do what? You were fine with everythin' last time, so I thought you would be this time! if there was somethin' you didn't want you should have told me or not done this until you're _really_ ready, instead of pushin' yourself to do things because you think you have to to please me!" He answers, raising his voice a little himself at the end.

Just then there's a gentle tap at the door and it opens about two inches "guys? Is everything ok? We heard you shouting and it worried Sarah" Quinn says, obviously concerned himself after yesterday.

"We're fine Quinn, give us half an hour and we'll be down, ok?" Eliot tells him.

"Jay? You ok with that?" Quinn double checks, not because he thinks Eliot would hurt her, but in case she needed help from him instead of Eliot.

"No, it's ok, I was just shoutin' because I threw up and I get upset when I'm sick is all, we'll be down as soon as we're washed and dressed, and we've got this evil duct tape glue off me!" She answers, trying for levity in her voice but missing by a mile, however it actually helps to sell the fib better.

"Ok, we'll be waiting, just shout if you guys need me" Quinn finishes before closing the door and going back to Sarah.

"I'm sorry" Jayda says in a small, quiet voice, making Eliot turn back to her from facing the door, to find her sat on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them, shaking and crying.

"Hey, no, it's ok, you don't need to apologise for nuthin', did I hurt you?" He asks, kneeling down next to her again and putting his hand on her knee.

"My throat's a bit sore, please... if you don't mind... can I ha... have a... a hug,... please?" She replies, looking at him with huge wet eyes.

"You can always have a hug, darlin', I'm sorry I hurt you, and... gave you _another_ flashback... I should have thought, I'm so sorry" he tells her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, his chest pressing against her side and shoulder, making her feel safe.

"I need to clean up this mess, and I've somehow gotta wash your cum outta my hair too" she tells him, releasing her legs and squeezing his forearm gently before he lets go and stands up.

"I'll wash your hair, and while you scrub off the evil glue I'll clean up this mess ok?" Eliot offers, after all she can't actually do either thing with one hand in a cast.

"Are you sure? I can manage..." she says as she climbs to her feet with his help.

"I'm sure, c'mere" he says, drawing her to him gently and going to kiss her until she turns her head away.

"What's wrong?" He asks, perplexed, worried that it's because of what he's done.

"Well, first off you just came in my mouth and over my face, including my lips, and second I just threw up, give a girl a chance to brush her teeth!" She points out.

"Well to your first objection, and? I... don't mind... the taste of cum, my own or someone else's, it's kinda hard to have male lovers if you're not willin' to blow them sometimes and when you make love to anyone repeatedly over a short period you're most likely gonna get a taste of yourself at some point, and to your second point, fair enough, but it wouldn't bother me, it just means closed mouth kisses is all" Eliot tells her, shocking her momentarily when he reveals his bisexuality.

"You're bisexual?" She asks wide eyed.

"Well yeah, you didn't know? Oh! You'd already left for England when I was caught with Runnin' Red Deer under the bleachers, it was like a week before graduation, i'd had a row with Aimee and so thought 'why not?', it was the last tiny push I needed to join the army, I always hated how everyone knew everyone else's business and was so judgemental about it" Eliot explains, naming one of the tribe Packmembers they grew up with.

"I'm sorry, that's another thing you've lost by bein' Mated to me" she says, hugging him tightly around the waist until she groans, pulls her right hand back and presses against her side where two of her surgery scars are.

"What's wrong?" He asks straight away.

"Just aches, and hurts when I try to take a deep breath, I think it's just deep bruisin' or somethin' from the surgery, it's a deep ache not a stabbin' pain, I don't think it's harm, more likely healin'" she answers, grimacing.

"If you're sure... lets get you and your hair washed, ok?" He asks.

"Yeah, I can't stay stood much longer" she answers, turning her back to him while he grabs the shampoo.

He turns back to her and before opening the shampoo wraps his arms around her and snuggles into her back, kissing her neck and shoulder and saying "I love you so much, I'm sorry I keep gettin' it all wrong, can you forgive me?" Into her ear.

She turns her head to get a profile view of his face before saying "there ain't nuthin' you need to be apologisin' for, or askin' my forgiveness for, we're fine, I love you too" making his heart lift and his arms tighten around her for a moment, before letting go so he can get about washing her hair and then her body, before wrapping her in a fluffy towel and sitting her on the counter with a wet washcloth to get the hated glue off while he washes himself and then cleans up the vomit in the shower.

Once he emerges he comes to Jayda, who's sat wrapped in her towel, and stands between her knees, his hands resting on her hips and leans forwards to peck her on the lips, which makes her start giggling "I've brushed my teeth, it's safe to kiss me now!" She tells him, pulling him in for a proper kiss, meaning he doesn't get a chance to comment on the fact she's cut her hair further, evening it out and styling it into a collarbone length bob, about the same length as his own, maybe a touch longer, before he goes to lift her.

"No! You're not liftin' and carryin' me with that damage to your chest! Just help me down and I'll walk!" She tells him, stopping him from lifting her at all at the sight of the now blue/black/purple bruise on his chest.

"Jay..." he says on a sigh, getting ready to argue with her.

"No! I'm puttin' my foot down, no more liftin' or carryin' me until you're healed! Now help me down..." rather than start a fight Eliot bides his time and slowly helps her slide off the counter and onto her feet, noticing how much heat her body was giving off in the process, worrying him again as she wobbles off into the bedroom, towel wrapped around her waist.

He sighs deeply and follows her into the bedroom, finding her digging through the drawer where she keeps her sleepwear, presumably looking for more pajamas, before going into the top drawer for underwear and a vest.

"Hey" he says wrapping her up in his arms from behind "I like your hair like this, you gonna dye it again?" He asks.

"Maybe, we'll see how long until my wrist cast comes off, you like it this length? I just couldn't bare leaving it the way he left it any longer" she answers.

"Yeah it suits you, it was nice long too, but if it has to be short then like this is nice, but I'll love it however you do it, because I love you" he tells her, kissing her neck and shoulders, his hands coming up to hold her breasts, stroking the nipples and massaging the flesh of them.

"Mmmm, that's nice, but we gotta get dressed, and do laundry, you must be nearly out of clothes" she points out.

"Yeah, I was gonna go shoppin' today and buy more clothes, thought I might take Sarah with me, maybe buy her a present, maybe get somethin' for both of you for Christmas" he says, smiling against her throat and tweaking her nipples playfully "and I'll put some laundry in to wash before I go, if you'll tell me where your laundry room is!" He adds with a small laugh.

"Didn't Sarah tell you? I'll show you, get dressed and we'll sort some loads out" she tells him, reaching back to squeeze his ass with her right hand before stepping out of his hold and starting to put her clothes on.

He smiles at her fondly as he pulls his jeans on, looking for an undershirt but not finding one, so putting just a button down on, and promising himself he'd buy a couple of sweaters as well as long sleeved undershirts while he's out buying clothes.

When they are both ready they sort clothes, towels and bedding into loads for the washing machine, then lay them ready for Eliot to come back for them once he has everything ready to start the laundry before they head for the stairs, their hands linked, but when they reach the top Eliot pulls Jayda back from the top step.

"Let me carry you down, I don't like the idea of you tryin' to walk down with those casts on, I don't want you to fall" he says with his arms wrapping around her protectively.

"El, I'll be fine, it's not the first time I've used this staircase with my leg in plaster" she answers, smiling up at him softly and giving him a squeeze around the ribs "and I don't want you to hurt yourself any worse either" she adds.

"But I'll bet you never had more than one limb in a cast when you've used the stairs, not only can you not walk steadily but you can't hold on properly to anythin' to help, please, let me look after you?" He begs, pulling out the puppy eyes and everything.

Just as she opens her mouth to answer they're interrupted by Quinn, standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting to be noticed.

"What's the problem? Do you need a hand with something?" Quinn asks, grinning at them.

"Yeah, actually, can you carry Jay down the stairs for me? She won't let me but she's not safe to walk down them in those casts" Eliot quickly answers over her huff of annoyance.

"So long as she doesn't mind I'm happy to" he answers, tipping his head towards Jayda in a respectful nod.

"Fine! If it'll keep you both happy!" She huffs out, putting her hands on her hips and pouting at Eliot who is grinning in triumph.

Quinn quickly makes it up the stairs and Eliot says to Jayda "I'll go grab a load of washin' to bring down since Quinn's carryin' you, ok?"

"Ok, see you in a minute" she answers, as he heads back into their bedroom, then she turns to Quinn who's smiling at her, she lowers her eyes, blushing a little, this feeling somehow way more _intimate_ than it should be, as she puts her arms around his neck, before he gently lifts her and holds her tightly to his body as he carries her down to the main room, and she can't help noticing what a hard, _muscular_ body he has when she's being held so tightly to it, making her think about him watching and listening to her and Eliot the day before, and of him pleasuring himself to the sounds of their passion, making her blush more.

When they reach the bottom of the stairs Quinn puts her down gently, keeping hold of her until he's sure she has her footing, then saying quietly "just remember, I got Sarah to shower alone, you owe me a kiss when I choose to collect it" before letting go and ushering her towards the couches where Sarah waits, the strange energy between them dissipating almost instantly.

"Hey mommy! What are we doing today?" Sarah asks excitedly.

"Well daddy needs to go buy some clothes, he said he might take you with him to the mall if you want" Jayda tells her, giving her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head.

"Is it ok if I go? You won't mind?" Sarah asks, barely able to keep still from squirming in her seat.

"Of course I don't mind, little bug! I have a commission to do anyway, so I can get on with that while you guys are out, now are you dressed ready to go out once daddy has the laundry runnin'?" She tells her.

"Yes I'm dressed and ready, how long will it take daddy to work the washing machine?" Sarah asks impatiently.

"Well have you seen daddy bring some washin' down behind me and take it into the basement?" She asks, getting a nod in return "then he should be back any minute" she finishes, pulling her daughter to her, to tickle her gently and make her laugh while they wait on Eliot.

While they play on the sofa Quinn stands at a distance and watches, a smile on his face, glad that Jayda seems alright after her ordeal and is able to share a fun moment with her daughter, without having to hide it behind an aunt's love instead of a mothers.

"Hey!" Eliot says quietly, coming up behind Quinn and clapping him on the shoulder "so I need to go buy clothes, Christmas presents and an engagement ring, you comin' with?"

"Yeah, I need to buy the exact same things!" He replies equally as quietly "are you leaving Jayda and Sarah alone here?" He asks in return.

"No, I was plannin' to bring Sarah with us and just let Jayda rest however she wants, she has a fever, which is worryin' me a little, but I think it's just her body still undergoin' changes into a half-were, and it's a full moon tonight which might be part of it too, but I think the best thing for her is undisturbed rest and sleep, which she'll likely get while we're out, as she didn't sleep too well last night" Eliot replies, hoping he's right.

"Well whatever you think's best" Quinn replies, grinning at a loud squeal from Sarah followed by giggles, but Eliot catches Jayda wincing at the loud, shrill noise, making him worry just a little more.

"Hey my bugs! So you wanna come shoppin' with me little bug?" Eliot says as he walks over, smiling broadly.

"Yes please!" Sarah says, bouncing in place on Jayda's lap, making her wince again.

"Hey bug, be more gentle, you're hurtin' mommy!" He tells her quickly but gently.

"I'm sorry!" She cries out fearfully, scrambling to get off Jayda's lap as fast as she can, saying "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry for being bad! Please don't stop lovin' me and bein' my mommy and daddy!" Before collapsing down onto the floor crying.

Jayda shoots Eliot a stern look before turning to Sarah "no, babygirl shhh, you're not bad! I know you didn't mean to make me ache that's why I didn't say anythin', I was happy to see you so excited about goin' out, and we've told you, we could never stop lovin' you, or stop bein' your mommy and daddy, we'll always love you no matter what, and we'll always be your mommy and daddy, nothin' will ever, EVER change that, so don't worry or be upset, ok?" She tells her, sliding off the sofa and onto the floor so she can wrap up in a hug the little girl who's been made to believe that they could stop loving her if she does even the slightest thing wrong, Eliot comes around the sofa and sits on the floor on the opposite side of Sarah, so they're hugging her from both sides, her small body protected between them as they comfort her, Quinn coming to sit on the couch next to them to offer his love and protection too.

"I'm sorry! I didn't _mean_ to!" Sarah cries out again, getting Eliot another dirty look from Jayda over Sarah's head.

"Honey, it's ok, you didn't hurt me..." Jayda starts again before Sarah speaks over her.

"I'm sorry for getting upset and thinking the wrong thing! It's hard to remember you won't stop loving me! He said...." Sarah says before closing her mouth suddenly and biting her lip, hard enough to make the skin around it turn bright white.

"It's ok babygirl, we're not mad, we just don't want you to be upset..." Jayda starts before being interrupted again, but by Eliot this time.

"Hey bug? What were you gonna say before you stopped? He said...?" He asks, keeping his face blank and neutral, a mask Jayda and Quinn could see his anger through but Sarah couldn't.

Sarah looks from Eliot to Jayda and back again, obviously conflicted about what to do, so Jayda tells her "go on bug, it's ok" but worries about how he's going to react this time.

"He... he said... said no one would love me for long once... once they knew what a... a 'filthy _fucking_ beast' I was,... that the smallest thing would be the... the excuse they used for not lo... loving me anymore, that it wasn't poss... possible to love an animal like me because I was _diseased_ and _nasty_!" Sarah stammers out, tears pouring down her cheeks, when she finishes Eliot forcibly takes her from Jayda's arms and starts to carry her in a slow circle around the edge of the huge room, murmuring to her all the while, holding her head to his shoulder with one hand as tears keep pouring down her face onto his neck.

While Eliot walks Sarah around the room Quinn helps Jayda back up onto the sofa, none of the weird energy that had been between them earlier in evidence now, both of them being too focused on Sarah and Eliot.

Once Sarah's tears have stopped Eliot brings her back to the sofa, looking at Jayda with pain glazing his eyes before turning to Quinn and saying "hey Quinn, can you take our special little bug upstairs to wash her face please?"

"Sure can! C'mon bug! Lets go see if you've got gills too!" Quinn answers, taking Sarah from Eliot, who sits down next to Jayda, gripping her hand gently, Quinn hoping for a smile and instead getting sass.

"Don't be silly daddy Quinn, fish have gills, not wolves! We have fur and sharp teeth and big ears!" Sarah tells him, playing with his ponytail.

"Oh well, I guess I'm pretty dumb then!" Quinn says as he walks towards the stairs with her.

"No!" Sarah snaps at him, making him raise his eyebrows as he looks down at her, before she continues "dumb isn't real, there are just different ways to be smart! And you're not dumb anyway, you're smart enough to love mommy Ruby and Jane and me and stay with us, so you have to be clever!"

Quinn stops dead in his tracks at this and looks down at her again, this time with a look of complete adoration on his face before he hugs Sarah very tightly and whispers "thank you snugabug, I love you as if you are my own daughter, and I always will" before going on to climb the stairs.

The moment they're out of sight Jayda turns to Eliot and says "are you stayin'?" While hugging herself as best she can with the cast on.

"Oh, darlin', course I'm stayin'! Well I'm going shoppin' but I don't think that's what you mean is it?" Eliot answers.

"No that wasn't what I meant, what did she say?" Jayda asks.

"Not much, I did nearly all the talkin', I think we're goin' to be seein' these outbursts for quite a long time, he did a serious number on her,... God what i'd give to..." he answers before being cut off by Jayda.

"El! Don't! Don't think about him or dwell on him, he's not worth a moments thought, he's dead and gone, don't let him rule over or ruin our life, he doesn't deserve the satisfaction wherever he is" Jayda tells him.

"You are, as always, right, I'm sorry, I just get SO angry about it" he replies.

"I know, come here" she says, pulling him in for a slow, passionate, lingering kiss that has him rock hard in moments, pulling her towards him until she's straddled over his lap, her warm, damp centre pressed to the fly of his jeans and the hardness underneath, so that he can feel the heat through the denim covering him.

They break apart suddenly at the sound of a high pitched giggle and a deeper, dirtier laugh coming from the stairs, rather than turn to look Jayda just wraps her arms around his neck then rests her forehead against Eliot's, looks into his eyes and says "every damn time!" Gently bouncing her head off his after each word, making him laugh too, so she just shakes her head and rolls her eyes at him and goes to swing off his lap, but he's not having it, he's not letting her go.

"Oh no you don't! You're Mine!" He says with a laugh, hugging her tight to him while grinding her down against himself surreptitiously, before giving her a loud smacking kiss and a slap to the ass before letting her move.

"Oh you... CAVEMAN!" She says with a laugh, swinging her leg back and flopping into the seat next to him, leaning against him heavily as he puts his arm around her so she can snuggle in under it.

Sarah watches this with a quizzical look on her face, trying to figure out if they're joking around or are really mad at each other, in the end she decides if they're smiling and laughing it must be a joke and breaks into a huge grin at seeing them so happy and laughing together.

"You freshened up bug?" Eliot asks, his smile colouring his voice and making him sound so different from usual.

"Yes daddy, are we still going shopping?" Sarah asks quietly, as if expecting to be told no because she'd been upset.

"If you still want to come with me and Quinn, I need you to help me choose a few things, like Christmas presents for everyone and some nice clothes so I can take mommy out on a date, think you're up to that for me, snugabug?" Eliot replies, still smiling.

"Yes daddy, I still want to come, and I'll help you buy clothes so you look extra handsome when you go on a date with mommy!" She tells him so seriously he can't help but laugh.

"Thank you bug, come here and give mommy a hug before we set off" he answers, holding his free arm out to her as Quinn puts her down onto the floor, so she can run to Eliot and clamber onto his lap for a hug, planting a knee squarely on his sensitive erection painfully, making him go red in the face, until Jayda pulls her over onto her lap for a cuddle of her own when she sees his face.

"You ok?" She mouths at him over Sarah's head, knowing what must have happened, getting a dismissive wave, a nod and a "thank you" back, before he leans in over Sarah's head and kisses her gently and lingeringly.

When Sarah looks up and giggles Eliot starts to pull back, then hears a camera shutter go off, he turns his head to Quinn, glare already in place, ready to threaten the man wearing the shit-eating grin, when Jayda beats him to it.

"Will you send me that please?" She asks Quinn, smiling softly, before she leans in to whisper in Eliot's ear "our first family photo" her breath on his ear and neck making him shiver and the idea of their first family photo making him need to blink quickly and repeatedly for a few moments to stop himself getting wet eyed.

"Yeah" he whispers back before kissing her again, when they pull back from each other Sarah looks from one to the other "are we going now?" She asks, Eliot smiling as he grabs her and stands up, putting her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry as she squeals in surprise and says to Quinn "c'mon lets get goin', we have a lot to do" before turning to Jayda and stroking her hair, saying "I'll be back as soon as possible, if you need anythin' call me, Quinn, Parker, Hardison or your dad, ok? Your phone's just on the table and is fully charged, if you need anythin' use it ok?"

"Yes **_sir_** , I'm gonna work on a commission and have a nap, if I need anythin' I'll call for help, I promise, now go! Before your daughter's head explodes from the amount of blood in it!" She answers smiling up at him and kissing his palm before he nods, smiles and heads for the door, once Quinn's out Eliot turns back and says "I love you" before closing the door behind him, leaving Jayda in blessed peace.


	25. Two Hitters, a Little Genius and a Mall, Ten Days Before Christmas (part one)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Quinn take Sarah to the mall to buy gifts and clothes, Jayda works at home and continues to feel off-colour, and Parker and Hardison get roped into search duty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the one that the lovers of Daddy!Eliot have been waiting for!
> 
> My illness is kicking my ass at the moment and it's making it really hard to concentrate on anything, let alone write but I'm still trying, even though I doubt I'll finish the current chapter I'm working on (twenty nine) any time soon I will post both parts of this, I'm not going to make you all wait for the second half (well no more than a week anyway) 
> 
> As always comments feed the muses speed-laced cookies and that helps me write, so tell me what you think!
> 
> Enjoy darlin's

ELIOT/QUINN

Once outside Eliot flips Sarah back down from over his shoulder to in his arms and then to the floor, watching amusedly as she drunkenly stumbles for a few steps before she rights her balance again.

"You made me all dizzy!" She tells him laughing, before turning and running for the truck, not stopping to put on the coat Quinn had picked up for her on his way out.

"El, what exactly do you know about looking after kids?" Quinn whispers to him as they slowly cross the porch and walk down the steps, before adding "because I know sweet fuck all really and we've just promised to take one to a crowded mall while we go shopping, right before Christmas!"

Eliot looks at him from the corner of his eye appraisingly and answers "well I've been copin' alright so far, and it's not like I can lose her the way a human parent might, and there are two of us, plus we're retrieval specialists, we can keep track of a seven year old!"

"I hope to God you're right because if anything goes wrong Jayda will force feed us each other's balls, and not in the fun way... that woman terrifies me" Quinn replies, pulling out the keys to the truck and handing them to Eliot.

"There's a fun way?" He asks quirking an eyebrow at him before continuing "and how come I get to drive?"

"Because I'm sick of these country roads, you can deal with them for a bit instead, you're more used to them" Quinn answers as he wrestles a reluctant little girl into her coat and then into her seat and buckles her in.

After closing the door behind Sarah he comes closer to Eliot as he says "and of course there's a fun way, but that is an impossibility for us both now, it's a shame..." before walking around the front of the truck and climbing into the passenger seat.

Eliot stands and watches him as he thinks about what he just said, wondering if there could have been something between them if he hadn't already been life-Bonded to Jayda, before finally shaking his head to clear it, promising himself he'd think about it more later, before climbing in and starting the truck.

Once they're moving Eliot asks Quinn "how were the roads for snow? Diwali told us it was snowin' hard when he arrived last night"

"Not too bad, about two feet fell again last night but they seem to have gotten the roads plowed really early so we should be fine" Quinn answers before adding "hang on, you saw Diwali again last night?" Prompting Eliot to tell both Quinn and Sarah about the pup and what had happened, making it as child friendly as he could before adding in the news they would be fostering him until his leg was healed, making Sarah very, very happy.

"I get a wolf to keep as my very own?" She asks, not quite understanding the concept of fostering.

"No, we look after him until he's healed enough to be released into the wild again, he's a wild animal, not a pet, we can't keep him, I'm sorry bug" Eliot tells her watching in the rear view mirror as her face falls, breaking his heart, until she does something extraordinary, she pulls on a mask very similar to the hitters mask they all wear to work in, then smiles back at him in the rear view mirror as if this hadn't upset her, and he suddenly knows he's going to spend a fortune on her, to show how proud of her he is and how much he loves her.

"Hey bug? Mommy told me you're good with horses, do you have one of your own?" Eliot asks her, thinking about presents he could get for her.

"Yes and no, there is one I look after and have been helping to train but if someone buys him then he goes, so he's not really mine" she answers, understandably sounding a bit sad.

"I'm sorry bug I didn't know, maybe I'll be able to buy you a horse when you're older" he replies, shooting a look at Quinn telling him not to say anything about this.

"That's ok daddy, I know how expensive a horse is to buy and then look after, i'd need to have a job before I could afford it's food and bedding" she says in the voice of someone who has dreamed about a goal for a long time.

"Well bug, that's a very grown up way to think of it, so maybe when you're older, eh?" Eliot tells her feeling immense pride at his daughter's maturity.

"Ok, daddy, I love you, can we have the radio on now?" She asks politely.

"Sure bug, anythin' you want" he tells her, motioning to Quinn to turn the radio on as they head to the mall.

JAYDA

Once she's alone Jayda goes over to the table, getting her laptop and her art supplies that she'd need for a landscape picture.

When she's got everything she needs and has made it back to the sofas she settles into a comfy position and opens her laptop, opening the saved mail with the description of what the customer wanted and reading it through again before starting.

After two hours of working she puts down her pencil and leans backwards trying to pop her spine, before using her forearm to wipe the sweat off her forehead so it doesn't drip on her work, she decides she needs to cool off and gets up from her comfy nest, heading to the basement staircase and carefully working her way down to the cooler basement, before wandering over to the laundry room and finding that the washing machine has finished its cycle, so she swaps the washing from there to the drier, turning it on and thinking about how long the boys were likely to be, when she realises how long it might take them she decides to bring another load of washing down herself and put it on.

She works her way up both flights of stairs and into their bedroom, heading to the pile of bedding and towels and gathering them all up into a bedsheet which she uses like a sack to carry it all.

Once she's back in the basement she adds that load to the washing machine and goes back out into the training room, kicking herself because she now feels hotter than when she first came down, and her temperature is making her feel physically sick, after a few minutes sat on the giant beanbag she's at least not quite as breathless or sick feeling as she had been so she decides to head back up to the main room, but of course when she gets there she's too hot and sick feeling again, so she grabs a blanket and goes out on the porch, sitting on the wooden swing with her casts propped up on the railing, just enjoying the view of the frozen lake and woods and the colder air which seems to help with the itching too.

ELIOT/QUINN

Once they finally find a parking spot and get out of the truck, Eliot starts giving orders.

"Quinn keep hold of Sarah's hand! We're gonna go to the jewellers first and then clothes shoppin', then finally presents, ok?" He near enough barks at Quinn, as he takes Sarah's other hand.

"Yes drill Sargent! Would you like us in formation drill Sargent?" He replies sarcastically, making Sarah giggle.

"You tryin' to tell me somethin' Quinn?" Eliot asks with just as much sarcasm.

"Yeah, stop giving me orders, just ask if you want something instead, ok?" Quinn answers seriously.

"Ok, sorry if I was a bit.... you know..." he says, casting about for the right word.

"I know, it's ok, now you were saying something about a jewellers?" Quinn answers.

"Yeah there's a pretty good one here, been passed down through a family, really good quality stuff" Eliot tells him pointing to a small store just where they are entering the mall.

They stop outside the show window and Quinn is surprised that there are only about two dozen pieces displayed in it.

"Where's the rest?" He asks, looking confused.

"Inside, they mostly make items to order so the pieces they have for show are either already sold or just ones they've come up with themselves, but they're all unique, just like bug here!" He says, crouching down to Sarah's level to tickle her quickly.

"Well lets go see what they have for sale!" Quinn answers, heading for the door.

Once inside he's surprised to see boards displayed with just a pattern of single jewels on them, obviously meant to be centre stones for rings or necklaces, but they do have more ready made rings in a display in a cabinet and they all are beautiful and unique just like Eliot said.

"Hi!" He says to the man behind the counter, who looks up from a ring he was working on inquisitively "I'm looking for a ring, an engagement ring, maybe with amber as the main stone?" He explains nervously.

"I think I have just the thing, sir, are you looking to have a ring made to order or one already made?" The salesman inquires.

"Preferably one already made if you have something suitable" Quinn replies, rubbing his hands on his pants as they start to sweat.

The salesman leans down behind the counter and pulls one of the ring boards out, putting it on the counter, pulling out a small, delicate ring where the amber had been turned into the heart of a flower, with the petals being a set of matched white diamonds, which are surrounded by small emerald leaves, all set in platinum.

"It's perfect" Quinn breathes staring down at it in the man's fingers, unable to believe he found something so perfect so quickly, he was gonna owe Eliot big time for this!

"I'll take it!" Quinn says beaming, without even asking the price first (not like it was a consideration anyway thanks to Hardison) as he hands over his credit card.

"What size will you be requiring? I can resize it while you are shopping if it's required" the man asks, Quinn gives him all the details and signs the payslip for the ring, luckily it doesn't need resizing, it should be a perfect fit, so he takes the box and puts it in the inside pocket of his coat, trying to make sure he won't lose it.

Once he turns away from the counter, beaming so hard he thinks his smile might touch his ears, Eliot steps up into his place and sits Sarah down on the counter, smiling at the man behind it.

"You've got an order for Spencer?" He asks, getting a dirty look from Quinn for not warning him he could get a ring made to measure if he knew he was coming here.

Eliot turns to Sarah and tells her "now bug, you've got to promise me you won't say anythin' about this to either of your mommies ok? These are gifts for each of them and we want them to be a surprise, it's really important, you understand?" Raising his eyebrows at her to let her know he expects an answer.

"Yes daddy, I understand, don't tell mommy Ruby or mommy Jayda about coming here and you and daddy Quinn buying rings, because it's a big surprise and I don't want to ruin their surprises" she repeats back to him seriously, staring into his eyes to show her commitment to her promise.

"You're the best, snugabug" Eliot whispers in her ear as he hugs her, accidentally tickling her with his now short beard, rather than stubble.

"Sir?" The man behind the counter says to get his attention before continuing "here is your piece, if you'd like to check it meets your specifications..." and waiting while Eliot opens the ring box that has been placed on the counter.

Eliot opens the box slowly, looking at the custom rings on the inside, a pair of matching platinum wedding rings and a third, unique ring, a platinum ring set with a single natural fire opal, surrounded by platinum 'clouds' set with scattered tiny diamonds to look like stars, the overall look being of the full moon surrounded by clouds and stars, exactly what he wanted.

"Is the engravin' done?" He asks, just to be sure.

"Yes sir, everything as you requested and there is a voucher in the lid for the other two to be completed when you have the date" he tells him as Eliot hands over his credit card and turns the box to Sarah.

"What do you think bug? Will mommy like it?" He asks feeling rather nervous.

She stares at the rings for what seems like a very long time before looking up at Eliot "I like it, and I think mommy's gonna love it!" She says, making him let out a gusting sigh of the breath he'd been holding.

"I hope you're right bug" he tells her as he signs the receipt for the card payment and then picks up the ring box and makes it disappear into thin air (or his jacket depending on if you noticed his sleight of hand), making Sarah stare at him with her eyes wide "wow!" She whispers to herself as he lifts her down and takes her hand as they leave the shop, where Quinn takes her other hand as all three of them stare out at the mass of shoppers in front of them.

JAYDA

She's been out on the porch for about half an hour and she's shivering even with her blanket wrapped around her, but she still feels too hot and sick on the inside, her vision keeps greying out at the very edges and her itching has gotten so bad she's caught herself gouging at her arms four times while she's been out here, she has no idea what is causing this but it is starting to worry her, it's like an all over allergy reaction and she can't think what could be setting her off.

Once her shivering gets so bad her teeth keep chattering she decides to go inside, heading into the kitchen and finding some fruit in the fridge to snack on, amazed at the amount of fresh food filling the fridge, she can't be sure who to thank for it all, Eliot or her father.

Once she has her fruit she heads back to the couch, deciding that she may as well work if she's too sick to do anything else, she eats quickly, feeling a little better as she goes along, her vision stabilising and no longer greying out and the slight tremors, she'd been mostly unaware of, stopping, making it easier to work, but the rest of her symptoms remain, leaving her hot and sick and slightly dizzy, she hopes Eliot, Quinn and Sarah don't take too long, as she thinks maybe she needs a _little_ more bedrest after all.

PARKER/HARDISON

After spending a relaxing night playing World of Warcraft and being fed gummy frogs and orange soda by Parker, Alec is awoken by a knock on the bedroom door at about lunchtime, not wanting to move but knowing it has to be important or Diwali would never disturb them Alec gets up and answers the door in his boxers and tshirt.

"Diwali, sir, how can I help you?" Alec asks politely.

"Alec, I'm sorry to bother you but could I enlist you and Parker to help with a problem?" The Shaman asks.

"Sure, what's up?" He asks, wondering what could possibly be wrong.

Diwali goes on to explain about the wolf pup Eliot had found the night before and that someone has been setting traps in the woods illegally, to try to either catch or harm the weres, and since tonight was the full moon when they felt the need to run as a wolf the most, the woods needed scouring for any other traps that may be out there, so were the two of them willing to come help in the search?.

"Sure, just give us half an hour to get ready and we'll be out" Alec tells him, worry for not just his best friend, but Eliot's child and packmates as well, pushing him into braving the wild outdoors to help.

"Thank you, it is appreciated" the Shaman tells him then turns to leave to allow the two thieves to get dressed.

******************************************

When Alec and Parker find Diwali in the kitchen he has breakfast ready for them, telling them that if they're going to be marching through the woods all day in the snow they're going to want a decent meal in their bellies, knowing that the older man knows what he's talking about they take the time to wolf down the meal he's made them so they can get moving to the search.

Once they're at the meeting point for those taking part in the search, they are given very specific instructions on what to look for and how to look for it, to make sure none of the searchers get accidentally hurt by a trap while searching, after that they split into groups who are each assigned an area and get to looking to see what they can find that's made to harm the wolves.

JAYDA

When Jayda knows that the washing machine will have finished its cycle she gets up and heads up the stairs again, gathering the rest of the washing that needed to be done and stripping the bed, making sure she had a full load, again using a sheet as a sack to get it all down to the basement, she swaps the freshly dried clothes into a basket, puts the clean washing into the drier and adds the last load into the washing machine, turning the machines on she takes the basket up the stairs with her and folds the clothes neatly before stacking them back into the basket ready to be taken upstairs later.

She's still feeling hot and sick, so decides to try a cold glass of fruit juice as she'd spotted a few bottles in the fridge, once she's got her glass she heads back to her spot on the sofa, setting the cold glass on the end table next to her and turning back to her work, trying to do something productive.

As she works she takes sips from the cold, sweating glass of juice, until when she goes for one and finds the glass empty, she has no idea when that happened, she'd have sworn there was still some left, so she decides she must have needed it and goes for another glass, and a bottle of water too, because even while drinking the juice her mouth had remained so dry she couldn't help still feeling thirsty, and she hopes the water will cure that as well as lowering her body temperature.

Just as she's getting into the flow of her work her phone rings, she picks it up to a shout of "MOMMY!" Making her move the phone away from her head for a moment, as loud or shrill noises were really hurting her today, drilling through her head making it ring, as she slowly brings it back to her ear she hears "mommy? Are you there? I'm sorry I shouted!" Making her instantly feel bad for worrying Sarah, so she answers "hey bug! Sorry, I dropped the phone, you didn't do anything wrong, so what's up? Why are you calling me? Do you need somethin'?"

"Daddy wants to know if you need anything bringing home!" Sarah tells her exuberantly.

"Gee, I'm not sure... can I speak to daddy and see if he has any suggestions?" Jayda replies, having an idea.

"Ok, mommy, I love you!" Sarah says before handing the phone to Eliot.

"Love you too bug" Jayda replies, waiting while Eliot takes the phone and says "hey babe, anythin' you need?"

"Well, I was thinkin', you said you wanted to see about presents for Sarah? I think it might help you to know I bought her the horse she's been trainin' from Ruby, so if you want you could get her her own saddle and bridle, or a set of colours or somethin', as she hasn't got her own, Ruby told her she'd have her own when she had her own horse, so it'd be a perfect gift to go along with the horse, if you like" she tells him, helping him immensely.

"What about for you? Anythin' you need? Or want?" He asks, smiling softly at the fact that she thought of Sarah's needs and wants before her own.

"I can't think of anythin', but if you see somethin' you like feel free!" She says with a laugh, letting him know she's happy with his choices.

"Ok, well if you think of somethin' just text or call me ok? I love you" he tells her, putting a happy smile on her face.

"I love you too, hey could you put Quinn on for a moment?" She asks having an idea.

"Sure can, see you soon" Eliot says, followed by sounds of fabric and people as the phone is handed to Quinn.

"Hello?" Quinn says sounding a little unsure "what can I do for you?" He asks softly.

"I need you to get me a few things, and if he asks I need you to tell Eliot it's so you can set up a romantic night for Ruby, I wanna surprise him on our anniversary, of sorts, and I'm goin' to have to rely on you guys to help me set it up, are you willin' to do that?" She asks hopefully.

"Course I can sweetheart, just tell me what you need" he says, smiling and liking having a secret from Eliot, he could drive him nuts until the day in question!

"Erm... if it's ok i'd rather text them, then you've got a list and shouldn't forget anythin', if that's alright?" She asks, a hopeful lift in her voice.

"Course that's fine, anything else?" He double checks.

"Just make sure you all eat and don't let Sarah have too much sugar" Jayda tells him, her inner mother hen coming out in the process.

"I will and I won't, see you in a bit, bye!" Quinn says then hangs up the phone.

Jayda quickly types out a longish list of things she wants and sends it to Quinn, hoping he'll be able to get everything without too much hassle, and get it to her without Eliot noticing.

Now that her flow has been shattered she decides she may as well have the nap she knows Eliot wants her to have, then moves her work and equipment onto the small coffee table, she picks up her bottle of water to take a drink and is amazed when she drinks it in one long pull 'I must have needed that!' She thinks to herself as she snuggles down on the sofa and pulls one of the fuzzy blankets over herself, then quickly reaches over, grabs her phone and sets an alarm for an hour and a half, so she can deal with the washing when it's finished, before setting it back down and snuggling up again, closing her eyes and letting sleep drag her down into darkness.


	26. Two hitters, a little genius and a mall, ten days before Christmas (part two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Quinn have a mutual discovery about each other, and then get the scare of their lives, Jayda continues to feel unwell but soldiers on to do some housework to prove her worthiness to Eliot and Ruby makes headway in removing Jared from her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've finished chapter twenty nine and written a good portion of chapter thirty, I now estimate this will be a thirty five to thirty eight chapter story.
> 
> I've got a list of things yet to happen and then I'm cutting it off ready to add some shorter stories before writing the big MCU tie-in story.
> 
> There's gonna be a little poll at the bottom asking which story you want first, if you don't answer then don't complain if I just write what comes next chronologically.
> 
> I have the designs for the rings from the last chapter drawn out but I can't figure out how to add them to the story, if anyone can tell me how to do it from an iPad I'll be eternally grateful.
> 
> Enjoy darlin's
> 
> Ps. Points for spotting a link to something else, let me know what you think it is!

ELIOT/QUINN

Keeping a tight grip on each of Sarah's hands, Eliot and Quinn navigate their way from the jewellers towards the biggest department store in the mall, it takes much longer than it should thanks to the heaving mass of people all running around like they hadn't had twelve months to prepare for Christmas, Eliot feels that he and Quinn have an excuse as they had only just discovered their families, and really hadn't had time to prepare, plus the fact that they were there to stock their own wardrobes not just buy presents, but he was getting angrier by the second with all these dumb, slow, people clogging the walks making it hard to get anywhere.

"I've had enough! Quinn, can you let go of Sarah? C'mere snugabug, I'm gonna carry you to make this easier for us all" Eliot says, unable to bare this pace any longer "Quinn keep up, ok?"

"Ok, if you're leading the way should I just grab a belt loop and follow like that so I don't lose you both?" Quinn asks knowing he'll never find them again if he falls behind.

"If you must" he says rolling his eyes before finishing with "c'mon you pair of kids, lets get a move on!"

After that they move a lot quicker, Eliot just as graceful dodging around inconsiderate shoppers as he is when fighting for his life, Quinn following closely in his wake making sure he keeps up and doesn't lose Eliot.

At one point even Eliot can't get through the wall of flesh in front of him and has to stop suddenly, and because of his momentum Quinn ends up plastered along his back, stuck there because someone else was now behind him, at being so close to Eliot, being able to smell his hair and his natural scent, Quinn is mortified when he gets achingly hard very quickly, and it's made worse when someone elbows him in the back making him stumble even tighter along Eliot's back, essentially rubbing his erection against Eliot's ass crack, he can feel when all of Eliot's muscles clench up like he's about to fight and he knows there will be nothing he can do if Eliot throws a punch or elbow at him, he's got nowhere he can move to, so he's just a little (lot) surprised when instead of the expected punch, Eliot pushes his ass back against him and rubs himself along his cock, slowly and sensuously.

Quinn stands there in shock, his mouth open like a landed fish as Eliot continues to rub back against him, before slowly leaning back into him a little, making Quinn's hands come up to Eliot's hips automatically as he moves, Eliot turning his head towards Quinn on the side away from Sarah.

"Not your girlfriend, Quinn" he rasps out quietly while pushing back against him.

"Yet you haven't punched me... in fact you seem to be encouraging me... and this was an accident, I promise" Quinn whispers back, squeezing his hips firmly as his lips brush gently against the base of Eliot's neck.

"We need to find a bathroom" Eliot tells him in a more normal tone of voice but with a distinct rasp and growl to it, making Quinn shiver.

"El, no... I... much as I've always wanted you I'm not cheating on Ruby, a little innocent grinding in a crowd is one thing but I can't..." Quinn starts, before Eliot cuts him off in an amused voice.

"No Quinn that wasn't what I meant, I meant so you could wait with Sarah while I deal with my problem.... but it's good to know you won't cheat on Ruby" he says.

" _What_ problem? Quinn asks a little worriedly, hearing his tone of voice Eliot quirks a little frown in passing and realises that Quinn hasn't realised that he is turned on by all this too.

" _This_ problem" he rasps, taking Quinn's hand with his free one and pressing it over his own torturously hard cock, showing him that he was just as affected by Quinn as Quinn was by him.

"Oh!" Quinn says, and goes silent for a few moments, absently stroking Eliot's length a couple of times before Eliot growls out "Quinn!" In a strangled voice, followed by "bathroom now!" And darting off to the side, grabbing Quinn's hand with his free one on the way past it and dragging him to the nearest men's room.

Once they get there he lets go of Quinn's hand where their fingers are interlinked and hands Sarah to Quinn saying "wait here!" Before disappearing inside quickly, as Quinn turns to Sarah and asks what she wants for Christmas, what her favourite colour is, and what her favourite design is just to distract them both.

Three minutes later he steps back out again, looking a little red around the ears (which Quinn can only see because Eliot washed his face and ran his wet hands through his hair, pulling it back and holding it there because it's now wet too) and Quinn looks at him and just raises an eyebrow, making Eliot growl out "lets see how long you'll take..." as Quinn disappears into the men's room.

Five minutes later Quinn comes back out to them looking rather pleased with himself.

"So clothes now, right?" He asks Eliot, while taking hold of Sarah's hand.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna carry her again, so let go of her" he replies, picking Sarah up when Quinn lets go of her hand.

"Now follow us again ok? Don't get left behind!" Eliot says as he slips out into the crowds again, Quinn quickly slipping two fingers through one of Eliot's belt loops so he doesn't lose them.

This time they make it to the department store without any problems or distractions and are soon picking out items they like, whilst abusing the other's fashion sense at the same time, Sarah laughing at them both as they verbally snipe each other.

At one point as Eliot tries on a shirt Quinn catches sight of the huge bruise on his chest and gives him a 'what the hell?' Look, Eliot just shakes his head at him and mouths 'later' at him, not looking forward to having to explain _another_ bruise to him.

After about an hour they're both getting pissed off with shopping, so they do a quick check that they each have at least their basic needs met, they've each bought boxers, socks, under shirts (with and without sleeves), jeans, pants, buttondowns, tshirts, boots and shoes of varying types, dress shirts, coats, jackets, hoodies, sweat pants and basketball shorts and Quinn has picked up jeans, sweaters, boots and long sleeve tshirts for Ruby too to replace some of what Jared destroyed, he also keeps asking if there is a tailor they could go to for suits.

While Eliot knows having a suit is a good idea, he's hit his limit for clothes shopping today and so promises they'd come back another day for suits, before realising the amount they've bought they'll need to go put it in the truck before getting the rest of the things they want.

"Hey Quinn, lets go take all these bags out to the truck, then go for toiletries and then gifts, ok?" Eliot asks, feeling exhausted already, he was gonna have Quinn carry Sarah for a while once they've dumped the bags he decides.

"Sure, I'll carry some of yours since you've got Sarah, alright?" Quinn proposes.

"That's fine with me, thanks man" Eliot's replies, smiling for the first time in well over an hour.

When they reach the doors leading to where they've parked the truck they're hit with another problem, looking out of the glass doors all they can see is white, there's a blizzard going on and they can't even see the nearest row of cars, let alone where they parked the truck.

"Well fuck me!" Quinn says rather loudly, instantly getting a rather hard punch to the arm from Eliot, who when he turns to look at him while holding the quickly growing bruise just looks down at Sarah meaningfully.

"Sorry!" He says to Eliot, looking shamefully at the floor until Eliot taps him on the shoulder making him look up "just try to do better ok? We all make mistakes, so what are we gonna do about the bags now?"

"I guess one of us braves it... wanna flip a coin? Rock, paper, scissors?" Quinn suggests.

"Fine! rock, paper, scissors!" Eliot says as he puts Sarah down, both men bringing their hands up and making their move, Eliot winning.

"Best two out of three?" Quinn whines, looking out at the blowing snow.

"Nope, anyway you got a tell, I'll always win" Eliot replies before adding "you just bought winter boots and a good coat, put them on and it'll not be so bad" referring to the coat and boots Eliot had _insisted_ he buy 'for the winter weather around here' they're not really Quinn's 'style' but they are practical, and it turns out, needed.

"Ok, go on, say 'I told you so' while you're at it!" Quinn replies as he pulls the boots out of the bag they were in and starts putting them on, meanwhile Eliot had turned to point out to Sarah how much of a wuss Quinn was being, but she wasn't where he put her down, he couldn't see her anywhere!

"Quinn..." Eliot says with an edge of panic to his voice.

"Always end up doing the dirty work..." Quinn mutters to himself.

"QUINN..."

"Never Eliot doing the messy part..."

_"QUINN! I CANT FIND SARAH!"_

"What!!! Where did she go?" Quinn finally replies.

"If I knew that I wouldn't be worried!" Eliot snaps back, the growl to his voice being very obvious.

"Can you smell which way she went?" Quinn asks, using his slight height advantage to see if he can see anything, like maybe someone carrying her.

"It's really hard to tell with so many sweaty humans wearin' too much perfume and body spray, but I think she went that way" Eliot says pointing towards the doors leading outside.

"Quinn wait here in case she comes back, I'm gonna try followin' her scent, she comes back just call me ok?" Eliot says, his panic becoming more obvious by the second.

"Of course, go! I'll be here, good luck!" Quinn answers, crouching down as Eliot leaves at a fast trot, heading for the bank of glass doors and windows showing the blizzard, Quinn hoping that if Sarah is still nearby he might spot her if he's down at her height.

Eliot follows Sarah's scent to the glass window nearest to where they had been stood, as he looks down, trying to catch a direction that her scent moved in he spots a small drawing on the glass, of a horseshoe and a five pointed star, and Eliot just _knows_ this was drawn by Sarah, then he catches her scent going off to the right, along the wall and past all the doors, as he follows the trail he gets more and more worried, he's completely unaware that he's growling, his teeth are a little extended and _very_ pointy and his eyes are gold, all he knows is Samantha is still out there, wanting revenge, and without Jared to protect Sarah if she were to take her again she could do anything!

Eliot is blindly following the scent trail now, too wrapped up in his worries of what could happen to Sarah to actually pay attention to where he is going, right up until a random woman hits him with her purse, _hard_ , shouting about him being a pervert, it's only then that he realises he haS been trying to walk into a ladies room, a doorway that has no trace of Sarah's scent leaving it, only entering it.

"Ma'am you don't understand my little girl has gone missin', I just wanted to check if she was in there, little seven year old, long brown and auburn hair, blue eyes, purple sweater and jeans, did you see her?" Eliot begs, his panic and all his recent anguish showing in his face.

"Well you should have just asked not tried to barge your way in! But no I didn't see her, but I can go back in to check, what's she called?" The woman asks.

"Her name is Sarah, but she might only answer or come out if you call her bug or snugabug, but try them in that order, please, thank you for helpin' me" Eliot babbles to the woman before letting her head back into the bathroom.

He stands there as the seconds tick by, worrying that if she's not in there where could she be? Had someone taken her, was someone hurting her? As he considers these options he feels a wave of despair roll over him, a feeling of having done something wrong and not knowing how to fix it, and of being scared, Eliot concentrates on the feeling and can tell it's not coming from the Bond, but it's _close_ to the Bond somehow, he has no idea how to quantify it even to himself, when the feeling suddenly cuts off, making him worry about the person feeling it.

Right then the woman comes back out of the ladies room "if she's in there she won't answer, but there is a cubical that's locked but no one answers when you knock, she could be in there, it's possible she won't answer because I'm a stranger, can't her mother come try?" She asks obviously worried as well.

"My wife is at home with two broken legs and a broken arm after being attacked, I'm here with my best friend, who's also a man, do you think the ladies would mind if I went in and tried? I'm so scared somethin' has happened to our baby" Eliot explains, his eyes red rimmed and wet.

"Then c'mon in, I'll make sure no one gives you hassle for it" the woman says taking his arm and leading him into the room patting his bicep in an effort to comfort him.

"SARAH!? Are you in here bug? If you are _please_ come out! Me and Quinn are so worried, please let me know you're alright!" Eliot calls out, his voice full of sadness and desperation.

"Daddy?" A small voice says from the end cubical, so quietly and sadly it breaks his heart.

"Bug? Is that you? Will you come out for me?" Eliot asks from outside the door, equally as quiet.

"I don't want you or daddy Quinn to be mad at me..." she half whispers.

"Oh darlin' we're not mad at you! Why would we be? We're just worried somethin' might have happened to you! Please come out for a cuddle, I was so scared i'd lost you for good!" Eliot tells her, begging by the end, just wanting to hold his daughter in his arms and know she's safe.

"Daddy?" Sarah says as the door swings open, showing her stood there cringing with her arms wrapped around her own body tightly and chewing her lip so badly it was bleeding, scaring him so badly, but all he can see is a seven year old Jayda who looked exactly the same and had the same nervous habits, it breaks his heart.

" _Babybug_?" He says gently, his voice cracking wetly as he holds his arms out to her, which she throws herself into, her arms wrapping around his neck so tightly she completely cuts off his air for a few moments.

"I'm sorry daddy, I didn't mean to be bad, I didn't mean to upset you and daddy Quinn!" She wails burying her face into his neck and bursting into tears.

"Sssshhhh, bug, it's ok.... you're not in trouble, you haven't been bad, yes me and Quinn were upset but only because we don't want anythin' to happen to our precious bug, we want you to be safe..." he tells her, rubbing circles on her back as he picks her up and she wraps her legs around his waist.

"Thank you ma'am, i'd like to offer you a reward for your help..." Eliot starts before the woman cuts him off.

"Oh no, I couldn't, just seeing the two of you back together is enough, to know this beautiful little girl is safe" the woman tells him.

"No ma'am I insist, and at this time of year I'm sure it'll come in handy, and before you try to argue, we don't have to worry about money, so it's a small price to pay for your help findin' one of the two most precious things in the world to me" Eliot argues, taking his wallet out and taking out the five hundred dollars he'd taken out of a cashpoint for presents and handing it to the woman.

"I can't take this! It's way, way too much!" The woman says trying to hand the money back.

"No ma'am, I insist, consider it a gift for showin' me the kindness of helpin' me, please, take it." He says looking into her eyes trying to convey just how important it is to him.

"Well, I don't know what to say... thank you! But I didn't do it for a reward..." she says.

"I know, that's why you deserve one, and it never hurts to show someone you appreciate the kindness they've shown you, so they'll know helpin' people is always worth it" he tells her with a smile "thank you again ma'am, I hope you have an excellent holiday season"

"You too young man, look after that precious one, she's perfect" she replies.

"I will, and I know she is" he says smiling softly and then turning and walking away, heading back to Quinn.

When they get to him Quinn takes Sarah from Eliot and hugs her tightly saying "please bug, don't EVER wander off like that again! You scared me and your daddy to death! we thought we'd lost you! Please promise you won't do that again!" Making Sarah burst into tears again and squeeze his neck tightly.

"I'm sorry! I won't be bad anymore! I promise! I just wanted to watch the snow! And then some people pushed me and then I couldn't find you again! So I went into the ladies room because it's safer, daddy said most bad people are men and they can't go in there!" She wails out, trying to explain what happened while still crying heavily.

"Give her back Quinn" Eliot says softly, taking Sarah back from him and cuddling her and talking to her so quietly Quinn can't actually hear what he's saying, as he slowly rocks her on his hip.

Once she calms down and her crying is just sniffles and hiccups Eliot looks up to Quinn.

"Are you ready to take the bags to the truck? The snow seems to be easin' off a bit" Eliot asks him, still rocking and swaying Sarah.

"Yeah, give me the keys, I'll only be a few minutes" he answers, pulling a beanie down over his ears before gathering the bags up and taking the keys from Eliot.

"Hey! Be careful ok?" Eliot says as Quinn starts to turn away, earning him a grin before Quinn heads off to the doors and into the snow.

"Hey bug, you feelin' calmer now? You shouldn't have wandered off, but you weren't bein' bad, we should have kept a better eye on you, but no ones mad at you, I promise" Eliot tells Sarah, crouching down and setting her on the floor, so she could sit with her back against the show window for the store they were in front of.

"But I know I shouldn't wander off, I know about bad people, I know it's bad, He tol... I know it's bad..." she replies, pulling her knees up to her chest and hiding her face behind them, just like Jayda does when she's upset.

"What did he do? Tell me Sarah, tell me what he said and did..." Eliot begs, keeping a very tight rein on himself and his temper, not wanting to lose it here and now.

"He... he told me it was bad to make people worry, that the next time no one would come looking for me, because no one really wants me, then he... he..." she trails off, obviously scared to tell him the rest.

"Tell me bug, I won't get mad, or at least I promise not to lose my temper, I'm not goin' to be mad at you or leave you alone, I swear it" he promises her, stroking her hair and taking hold of one of her hands.

Pulling a face like the words taste bad she forces herself to tell him "he broke my arm, and for the next week he insisted on putting me to bed so he could put cigarettes out on my other arm, it was before my first Change but I healed overnight, well mostly, and that made him so mad... he'd hold the cigarette against me longer the next day to 'punish' me more" she finishes, hiding even her eyes behind her knees, expecting to be told that he did the right thing and she was bad for disobeying, even though she knows Eliot's not like that.

"Oh bug! C'mere, you're not bad, what he did to you was _so_ wrong, none of us would do that to you! You know that right?" He says, bundling her up into his arms and cuddling her tightly, as a snow covered Quinn comes up behind them, the sight of him over Eliot's shoulder making Sarah giggle.

"Hey bug what you laughin' at?" Eliot asks, twisting around at the waist to see and bursting out laughing at the disgruntled look on Quinn's face "hey! it's the abominable snow-Quinn!" He says through his laughter, Quinn's eyes narrowing dangerously at him as he shakes melting snow off his coat and boots.

"Screw you, Spencer!" He says moodily, pouting at Eliot.

"Hey!" Eliot snaps with a scowl, holding Sarah closer to himself "watch it man!"

"Sorry, it slipped out..." Quinn replies looking shamefaced.

"It's ok, just don't do it again" Eliot says loosening his hold on Sarah as she begins to squirm.

"Right, toiletries and stuff, and if Sarah's good maybe somethin' sweet for her..." Eliot says tickling her through her coat.

"Daddy! Stop!" Sarah laughs out, squirming all the more to try to avoid the tickles.

"C'mon then!" Quinn says as Eliot stands, headed towards the nearest store that sells toiletries, wanting to get a few more things for Ruby as well as gifts after this store.

The men are relatively quick at grabbing the body washes, shampoos and deodorants they favour, along with a few other bits and pieces and a sugar free sucker for Sarah. Once outside the store Quinn turns to Eliot "I need to go to a lingerie store, Jared shredded Ruby's underwear, just about all of it, so I need to buy her some more" he says shrugging.

"No problem man, I'll get somethin' nice for Jayda while we're there" Eliot replies leading Quinn down an aisle towards a small tasteful shop with nightgowns and matching wraps and kimonos in the window, Quinn quirks his eyebrows a little at the sight of the store but says nothing, he'd been expecting the lingerie equivalent to a small chain clothes store, not somewhere that looks so.... refined.

When they walk in a small bell chimes softly announcing their presence and getting the woman behind the counters attention.

"Hello gentlemen, how may I help you?" She inquires, Quinn going over to the counter and explaining what he's looking for, while Eliot and Sarah look around the shop, Eliot asking Sarah what she thinks of an item occasionally.

After about ten minutes Quinn has everything he wanted for Ruby and a few extra items he saw that he liked and Eliot has a few packages himself for Jayda, which were picked with the help of Sarah, they pay and leave the store, heading to the food court, Quinn now carrying Sarah and Eliot carrying all the bags.

"So, what do you want to eat bug?" Quinn asks, bumping her up on his hip.

"I dunno... salad?" She replies looking out of the corner of her eyes at Eliot as she speaks, obviously trying to please him.

"He asked what you wanted bug, not what you think you should have" Eliot tells her, catching the look she gave him.

"Sorry" she answers quietly looking at the floor "i'd really like some fried chicken" she adds after a moments thought.

"Chicken it is then!" Quinn replies, kissing her on the cheek, causing her to go shy and hide her face in his neck, making both of the men give her doting looks and smiles.

Eliot sends Quinn and Sarah to go find a table for them and goes to buy lunch, after finding out what exactly each of them wants, he has to queue for quite a while before he's served but at least he knows the food is fresh, then returns to the others to eat before moving on.

PARKER/HARDISON

After fifty minutes of searching their area Alec is asking himself why he was out in the falling snow, in the woods, looking for bear traps, when he could be indoors playing W.o.W. with Parker wrapped around him, hell, if he knew Diwali would be out for hours maybe even get his _nasty_ on with Parker (he just can't in someone else's house when they might hear him, Nana taught him better than that! You don't abuse a hosts hospitality that way...) but instead he's out here, freezing his balls off, when even Eliot couldn't be bothered to turn up! Or Quinn either! He is so gonna rant at the pair of them when he sees them!

It's just as he's thinking this that he pushes his prodding stick into the snow and jumps a good three feet into the air, before falling on his ass and peddling backwards when the jaws of an iron trap spring closed around it, breaking it off in splinters. He immediately feels his chest tighten down like it did that time in the coffin, he can't get any air! what he's breathing in has no oxygen in it! He's going to suffocate!. Then Parker's arms are around him and she's holding his inhaler to his lips, pushing down on it to make it dispense the life saving medication, telling him "breathe with me Hardison, deep breaths in, slowly blowing them out, I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you..." continuing until his breathing is settled and slow again.

"Are you ok now?" She asks just to make sure, at his nod she asks "what happened?"

"Th... that giant ass piece of me... metal tried to take a chunk of me off! NOW I get why doing this is so important!" He tells her running some of the words together he's speaking so fast.

"Ok, so it just gave you a shock? You're not hurt?" She asks just to make sure.

"Nah girl, I'm ok, still in one amazingly hot, sexy piece!" He replies, wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively.

To which she just rolls her eyes at him and climbs to her feet, brushing the snow off her legs and ass and doing the same for him once he stands up.

"Hey girl! Don't you be getting no ideas back there! I told you nothin' nasty is going to be going on here" he tells her jokingly, getting a huff and a hard smack to the ass in reply.

"We need to report this to Caleb" she says naming their area leader, one of the wolves of the pack.

They walk for about three minutes before they come to Caleb, who's stood over a trap of his own frowning deeply.

"Caleb? Alec found a trap, now what do we do?" Parker asks, looking up at the sky as it seems the snow is getting worse.

"Go back to it and wait, the search is being called off because of the snow, someone will be over to collect both of you and the trap in the next couple of minutes, stay safe and stay together" he tells them, they turn away and have just started walking when he calls out from behind them "and thank you both, for coming to join the search"

"You're welcome!" Parker and Hardison call back at the same time, turning to wave before returning to the trap they've found.

Once there it's only a minute or two before Diwali comes up to them dragging a heavy sled and asks "this the only one you found?"

"Yeah, but Caleb had one over that way" Parker says pointing in the direction Caleb's in.

"Yes I know, one of the others has gone to collect him, lets go home shall we?" He asks, both of the young thieves nodding enthusiastically.

Once Diwali has unsecured the trap and put it in the sled he leads them back to the search base and hands over the traps he'd collected along with the gps locations of each one, then turns back to the others "do you want to go home now or is there anything you want in town?" He asks.

"I think we could do with warm, dry clothes, if that's ok?" Hardison answers, starting to shiver after being up to his waist in snow during his asthma/panic attack.

"It's no problem at all, lets go" Diwali tells them, unlocking the truck so they can climb in and get back to the house.

JAYDA

Jayda is running down a hallway, in an office building, the doors on either side won't open, there's _something_ chasing her,.. something _impossible_ ,.. but there none the less, and no matter which way she goes there is always just more and more hallway, and she's lost the people she arrived with! Sometimes she sees the shape of the beast following her, tall, taller than any man she's ever seen, over eight foot at least, and with horns like a buffalo, her mind keeps saying _**Minotaur**_ but she knows that's not possible, even the tribe who shifted into buffaloes were wiped out, there was no were or skinwalker in the world with this ability any longer, but what else could it be? As she wonders this the alarms in the building start going off, strident sirens that sound like... like... like her phone ringing!

At the realisation she bolts upwards, almost tipping off the sofa in the process and reaches for her phone, seeing it's just the alarm she switches it off and slumps back taking shaky deep breaths trying to calm herself.

Once she realises Eliot and Sarah aren't home yet she drags herself to her feet, determined to have the washing sorted by the time Eliot comes home to show she's not _completely_ useless at the moment, she heads for the basement stairs, going down carefully until she's in the laundry room, she empties the drier into a new basket and takes the last load of washing out of the machine and puts it into the drier, turning it on before working her way back up the stairs.

Once back by the dining table she sorts and folds the washing, having a little trouble with folding the sheets but managing nonetheless and then resorting all the washing into bedroom in one basket and basement into the other, she knows she needs to put clean sheets on the bed but she really feels too sick to do that right away, but she promises herself she'll have it done by the time Eliot gets home, if he lets her know when he's on the way.

She decides to try sitting on the porch again, as the cold helped last time the nausea welled up like this, so she wraps a blanket around herself and steps out of the door, not looking up until the door is closed behind her, and then all she sees is a blowing wall of white "dammit!" She says to herself, knowing that until the snow stops Eliot and the others won't be able to come back.

Even with the blizzard the porch is big enough that if she curls up on the swing the snow shouldn't reach her, meaning she can sit and cool down without getting wet, but she does worry about how Eliot will get them all back here in time for him and Sarah to go running, or even if they'll be able to at all if the snow keeps up.

She decides that the most helpful thing she can do for them is to make soup or stew for when they get back, because as well as the heating in the truck works chances are they'll be cold and happy to have a warm meal waiting for them when they get home, and if she does make stew maybe she can make a small pot of soup for when Eliot and Sarah come back from their run, they'll definitely need it then.

Now that she has a plan of action she's able to relax better and curls up tighter on the swing, cocooned in her blanket, slowly cooling her body temperature and watching the snow in a light trance, but completely unaware that she's scratching at her arms and her lower legs near her ankles, across her cleavage, up her neck and across her belly above the waistband of her pants, scratching until there are bleeding furrows all over her.

RUBY

Ruby has been spending the day cleaning up the destruction Jared left behind him, going through her shredded clothing and seeing if there is anything saveable or useable to make something else, keeping what will be of use and throwing the rest away, picking up the larger shards of mirror from the floor and dressing table and emptying all of the drawers and closet of anything of Jared's, before going to her jewellery box and taking off her engagement and wedding rings from Jared and dumping them inside, having no use for them any longer, stroking the cross at her throat at the thought of her engagement to Quinn and smiling softly.

After getting rid of the trash Ruby strips the bed and then has a thought, pulling out her phone she dials a number "hi! I'm sorry to bother you while you're busy but I was wondering if I could ask you a favour?" She asks of the smiling voice on the phone.

"Yes, I was just wondering if you could pick me up something if I text you the details?" She explains cryptically, getting an affirmative response she smiles broadly "thank you! I'll see you later!" She finishes before hanging up, then sending the text.

One set of black silk bedsheets  
Fitted sheet, flat sheet, six pillow  
Cases and a duvet cover all in  
King size, THANK YOU!!

Smiling she folds the duvet and leaves it at the foot of the bed waiting for the new sheets and goes to retrieve the vacuum so she can get all the tiny shards of glass out of the carpet.

Once she's thoroughly done the whole room twice she puts the vacuum away and gathers up the laundry, the sheets, her clothes, his shirts and underwear, his suit however needing dry cleaning so she'll take that into town before they close up, or maybe ask Bruce to if he doesn't mind, she looks around the room, checking that she hasn't forgotten anything and heads downstairs.

ELIOT/QUINN

Once they've finished their chicken and side orders Quinn turns to Eliot, saying "I've just gotta go get something and we can't take Sarah into the shop I've gotta get it from, how about you get her some ice cream or something while I go grab it and then we're onto presents?" Sarah's face lighting up at the mention of ice cream.

"Hhhmmmm, I was needin' to do the same, we'll take turns, you first, ok? whaddaya think bug? Want some ice cream?" Eliot answers, then asks Sarah.

"Yes please!" Sarah answers, squirming in her seat in excitement as Quinn slips out of his ready to leave.

"Wait! Quinn stay with Sarah while I go buy her the ice cream, I don't want to leave her alone..." Eliot says, making a good point that Quinn was kicking himself for not thinking of.

"Of course, what ice cream do you want bug?" Quinn replies.

"Any with hot caramel sauce please!" Sarah answers, making both men smirk before Eliot goes to buy the treat.

"So bug, what do you really, really want for Christmas?" Quinn asks, staring intently at Sarah.

"If I could have anythin' it would be my own horse, but I know I can't have that, so maybe my own kitten? If mommy Ruby would let me now He's gone, i'd really like some oil paints or acrylic paints with an easel and everything else i'd need, and lots of books, I love books!" She answers, not really giving him much to work with but enough for now.

"One caramel sundae with cherries!" Eliot says setting down the ice cream in question in front of Sarah with a big smile "hey bug, you're not allergic to nuts or anythin' are you?" He asks at the sudden realisation she might have a food allergy or intolerance he doesn't know about.

"No! I can eat anything, but Jane is lactose intolerant so I can't usually have ice cream because I don't like her to feel left out" she tells them, making them both feel so proud of her.

"Right I'll be back soon, in fact I'll bet I'm back before you're finished!" Quinn tells Sarah, kissing her on the head as he strides past, off to buy a few things.

Once he's gone Sarah turns to Eliot with an appraising look "do you and daddy Quinn like each other?" She asks, confusing Eliot.

"Of course we do bug, we're best friends!" He replies with a small frown.

"Not like that! Like how you like mommy Jayda and he likes mommy Ruby!" She explains, much to his dismay.

"What makes you ask that bug?" He chokes out.

"Well you started to smell... _more_ ,... like when you're a wolf, and when you came out of the bathroom you had that smell around you, like this morning, only it was after daddy Quinn was so close behind you so I thought it was because of him... and turning your head away doesn't stop me from hearing what you say.... just sayin'" she explains, making Eliot lean over and bang his head on the table.

"Werewolf hearin'" he mutters to himself before speaking up "eat your ice cream bug"

Sarah watches this a little worriedly, having the feeling she's done something wrong, but does as she's told and starts to eat.

Eliot sits up again after a few moments and scrubs at his face with his hands, only then really realising how he has a beard instead of stubble now "ok bug, you're kinda right, me and Quinn do like each other that way, but he loves Ruby and I love Jayda, so we can't be together, because it would be cheatin' on your mommies and we don't wanna do that ever, because it's wrong, the reason I smelled more Wolf is because my body was tryin' to show I'm the dominant male, the Alpha, between us, and the other smell was because... erm... well you remember that night in the shower? What you thought I needed to do then? Well I needed to do that, because my body reacted to Quinn because I like him, and he was rubbin' up against me and it felt nice... can we stop talking about this now? And please don't mention this to Quinn or your mommies it'll only upset them for no good reason" Eliot explains before begging for the conversation to end.

"Ok daddy, it can be our secret that I know" Sarah answers with a big smile, sliding out of her seat and coming to hug him around the neck before returning to her sundae.

Eliot just sits there feeling shocked and watches her eat before shaking himself to clear his head and wonder what he was going to get her for Christmas.

JAYDA

Jayda snaps out of her trance-like state and nearly falls off the swing when the phone in her pocket rings, she manages to wrestle it out of the fabric that's become knotted around it and is surprised to see it's Eliot calling again.

"Hello? Eliot? Is everythin' alright?" She asks, suddenly panicking.

"Hey darlin' everythin' is fine, I just wanted to ask you somethin'... are you ok? You sound like your teeth are chatterin'" Eliot asks.

"I'm fine, I just stepped out on the porch to cool down a little, is all, so what was it you wanna ask?" She tells him.

"I was wonderin'... um... what 'adult toys' you might have? And if there are any you want to try?" He asks sounding a little embarrassed.

"I have a small vibrator, that's all, but I'm happy to use just about anythin' you like the look or sound of, why? Bored in the bedroom already?" She asks playfully.

"Not at all darlin'! I just thought maybe we could have a laugh and some fun with some new toys together is all, if that's ok with you?" He answers.

"Well I guess the first thing on your list should be a nice, tight rubber cockring then!" She tells him, her teasing smile clear in her voice.

"As you command princess!" He replies.

"El? You're not taking Sarah anywhere near a sex shop are you?" She suddenly asks worriedly.

"I'm not _quite_ that stupid, Quinn's got her, takin' her to buy some shoes or boots or somethin', I'll text him when I'm done" he reassures her.

"El... what were you worried about earlier? I could feel you stressin' out" she asks, having felt Eliot's stress over Sarah figuring out about him and Quinn.

"It's nuthin' important, I'll tell you later tonight when we have a bath after our run ok?" He tells her, not knowing where he'll start but knowing he'll never keep a secret from her.

"I gotta go, we shouldn't be much longer, just a few gifts to buy, but I think I'll buy most Christmas gifts online, it's easier than this, I love you Jayda" he tells her.

"I love you too, but what about this blizzard? You can't drive in this!" She asks worriedly.

"The blizzard is past us, it's just plain snowfall now, hopefully it'll be past there by the time we need it to be, we'll make it home don't worry, no matter _what_ I'm comin' home to you today, I promise, I'll see you real soon ok?" He reassures her.

"I'll be waitin', see you soon" she replies, hanging up the phone.

"Right! get movin' woman!" She says to herself, hauling herself up off the swing and making for the door, hoping Eliot is right about the blizzard passing.

Once she's inside she drops her blanket on the sofa and heads into the kitchen, quickly putting a smaller stockpot on to boil for the soup, but having more trouble lifting the larger pot onto the hob to make the stew, because of her casted hand, but she eventually manages it, before taking lots of vegetables and two large bowls to the breakfast counter so she can sit while she peels and chops them.

Once the bowls are full to the brim of chopped vegetables she gets to her feet again and takes the bigger bowl over to the larger pot of boiling water, she opens her spice and stock apocathary chest and pulls out a cube of dried, compressed rabbit stock and drops it in the water, stirring it until it has broken up and dissolved, scenting the air with smells of roasted meat and herbs.

Next she adds the bowl of vegetables, potatoes, leeks, carrots and parsnips, before going back to her spice chest and adding some allspice, fivespice, turmeric, masala mixed spices, smoked paprika, and powdered garlic, adding mint, parsley, chives and dill from her herb selection and then going to her condiments cupboard, coming back and adding Worcestershire sauce, and cheating with some gravy granules.

Finally she goes to the fridge freezer and takes out some lardons from the fridge and some pre-cooked shredded rabbit meat she had put away in the freezer for just this recipe and comes back and adds it all to the pot, stirring it through before putting a lid on it and turning the heat down to a medium/high simmer, then turns to the soup.

For this she cheats quite a lot, she uses two large bottles of tomato sauce/purée and adds it to the water, then the vegetables from the smaller bowl, Worcestershire sauce, a smaller amount of gravy granules, a lot of smoked paprika and dried mushrooms, she'll add some shredded gammon to it when it's nearly ready but for now it just needs to cook, so she again adds a lid and then turns the heat down to a medium.

Once she's put everything away she's about ready to collapse, shaking and sweating, but decides to go upstairs and put the clean washing away before laying on the bed, just for a little.

She grabs the basket with the clothes in it and adds one of the sets of clean sheets before hauling it up the stairs, putting it on the dresser chair once there, she puts away her own clothes, what few there are, and puts Sarah's to one side to put in her box after her lay down, she puts the sheets on the foot of the bed and then takes what's left over to the empty, so far unused chest of drawers, when she opens the first drawer she's a little surprised to find a few things of Eliot's already in there, but it makes her smile thinking that he must really think of this as home if he's settled in enough to have claimed space like this.

She puts his clothes in the top two drawers neatly and goes over to the bed, she perches on the side looking at the sheets and takes a deep breath "okay woman, two minutes of sittin' then put the clean sheets on, then you can sleep" she tells herself out loud, trying to motivate herself.

She gives herself her two minutes and then slowly pulls herself to her feet, moving the pillows off the bed and knocking the duvet to the floor, she then puts the fitted sheet onto the mattress followed by the flat sheet, with tucked bottom corners, she gets five of the pillows into their cases, but was by now shaking very badly and knew she should do the duvet, because she could do the last pillow once she was sat down, so she starts shoving the duvet inside its cover, she gets about half of it in before her vision starts swimming and spinning, she takes a step forward to sit on the bed but trips herself on the duvet and falls on her face, but she doesn't feel the bang to the head she takes as she hits the floor, she's already unconscious.

ELIOT/QUINN

After meeting back up, Sarah was very happy with her new riding boots and excited about giving Jane her new ice skates that Quinn had bought them, telling Eliot all about how great Quinn is, while he walks along beside them blushing, Eliot smiling softly at her and encouraging her to continue just to see Quinn blush more, then he stops and asks them "is there anythin' you guys want to buy as gifts right now or are you happy to shop online?"

Quinn looks from Sarah to Eliot and then answers "online is better for me, I'm really hating these crowds"

And Sarah adds "why do they all wear so much perfume? It makes my nose burn!"

Both Quinn and Eliot look at her in dismay, Eliot recovering first and asking "bug, why didn't you say so? We could have eaten in the truck before goin' home if it's that bad, you should have told us!"

Sarah looks up at him biting her bottom lip "no-one wants to hear me complain about stupid stuff, I didn't want to be a bother and be bad..." she says, staring at him scaredly as he closes his eyes and grinds his teeth, knowing she's managed to make him mad again.

"Bug, I've told you, all the things he said to you, told you, they're all bullshit, if there is sumthin' wrong or hurtin' you, I want to know, it's important, I can't protect you unless you tell me, and I have to protect you, because I love you, you're my precious little bug!" Eliot explains, trying very hard not to raise his voice or sound like he was threatening her or mad at her, before giving her a tight hug at the end, his eyes filling with tears at what his precious little girl has had to live through, blinking them away as he loosens his hold on her.

"C'mon, lets go home, do you want droppin' off along the way or are you comin' to the house Quinn?" Eliot says.

"I thought i'd come to the house and get Ruby to come pick me up, she's wanting to see Jayda anyway" Quinn replies, getting a nod from Eliot as an answer.

When they get to the doors they find that the snow is down to medium level snowfall, not too heavy and not blowing, just falling straight down, Eliot looks at Quinn and says "I'm drivin' right?" Getting a slow nod in reply followed by "c'mon bug, lets get you zipped and bundled up so you don't get cold!"

Eliot puts Sarah down on the floor so Quinn can do up her coat while he does his own, pulling a stocking cap out of his pocket and down over his hair, before pulling his fingerless gloves out of the other pocket and pulling them on, Quinn having done up both his own and Sarah's coats and pulled on his own hat before pulling Sarah's hood up over her head, making her laugh.

"Ready?" Eliot asks the others, when he gets a pair of nods he takes Sarah's hand and opens the door in front of him before adding "lets go then!" And following Quinn and Sarah out to the truck, unlocking it and storing the bags away, while Quinn buckles Sarah in and covers her with a blanket that's on the backseat, then climbs into the passenger seat quickly before fiddling with the heater settings ready for when Eliot starts the truck.

Eliot climbs behind the wheel and quickly has them out of the parking lot and on the highway heading for home, on the way Eliot asks Sarah what Ruby and Jane might like for Christmas and she comes out with a well thought out list for each, with reasons for each present too, yet again showing how much thought she puts into pleasing others before herself, because when he asks her what she wants she says she already has it, her mommy is happy now she has Quinn and so is Jane, she's found out she has another set of parents who love her so much and finally, quietly, she confesses that also because Jared is gone for good "I know it's bad to be glad someone's dead but I hated the way he treated me and spoke to me and how he was to mommy Ruby and Jane too, I can't help being glad he's gone" she says sounding mournful and guilty.

"Bug, you have the best reason in the world to feel that way, it's not bad unless you feel that way about someone innocent being hurt or dyin', you've done nothin' wrong feelin' that way, I promise" Eliot tells her.

"Your daddy's right bug, there's nothing bad about you feeling that way about him, ok?" Quinn adds.

"Ok" she says quietly, both the men knowing they haven't heard the last of this subject yet.

As they turn under the trees that make up the driveway to the lakehouse Eliot thinks that maybe he should have called or texted to let Jayda know they were on the way back, but it had completely slipped his mind until right now and it was a bit late now as the house was just coming into view out of the darkness, all lit up and cosy looking.

They pull up and park and Eliot turns to Quinn "lets take all the bags in then sort out what belongs to who, ok?" He proposes.

"Sounds good" Quinn replies adding "I'll get Sarah indoors and then I'll come back for my share of the bags, if that's ok?" He offers.

"That'd be great, thanks Quinn" Eliot answers, giving Quinn the key so he wouldn't have to knock and risk waking Jayda up if she did have that nap, then going to start loading up with bags from the covered bed of the truck.

Once the front door is open Quinn ushers Sarah inside and tells her " take your coat and boots off, we'll be in in a moment, ok?"

"Ok daddy Quinn!" She chirps starting to undo her coat while Quinn goes back out to Eliot.

Hearing Quinn come back up to him Eliot straightens up from where he'd been bent forward trying to reach a bag and turns to face him while saying "you'll have to grab that bag my arms are too short to reach it from here..." then trailing off when he sees Quinn's face.

"What's wrong? Has som..." Eliot starts before Quinn speaks over him.

"I've gotta know, just once..." he says, reaching up and cupping Eliot's face like he had the day before, Eliot goes to speak but doesn't have time to get a word out before Quinn is kissing him, passionately yet still gently, after a minute Quinn pulls back resting his head on Eliot's for a moment before stepping away.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I know it was unwanted an..." Quinn starts before Eliot steps up to him and grabs the back of his neck to pull him down so he can kiss him, just as passionately as Quinn had kissed him, after a short while Eliot pulls back saying "not unwanted just... badly timed, we can't do this, hell I know that really you don't even want to do this, I know you love Ruby, it's just the lure of 'could've been' makin' you act silly and risk everythin', know this, if the worst happened to us both and we lost Ruby and Jay, then, yes, without hesitation, but I ain't cheatin' on Jay and I know you don't wanna cheat on Ruby, so this is it for now, no more kissin' or grindin' in a crowd or anythin' else, ok? And that goes for talkin' about it too, even that's too much of a risk, agreed?"

"Agreed, but just for the record, I've wanted to kiss you since the day we met, it's not just the forbidden fruit angle and what happened at the mall really was an accident" Quinn replies before saying "so what am I carr..." when he's interrupted by a scream of "DADDY!!!"

At the scream both men start sprinting for the house, Eliot getting there first and shouting "BUG! WHERE ARE YOU!" When he couldn't see her in the living room, 'please don't let her have fallen down the basement stairs' he prays while he waits the couple of seconds for her reply.

"UPSTAIRS! THERES SOMETHING WRONG WITH MOMMY!!!" She screams to him making his heart miss a beat as he takes the stairs three at a time, Quinn hot on his heels.

Eliot reaches the top of the stairs and swings into the bedroom, finding Sarah kneeling on the floor next to Jayda's unmoving body.

"DADDY!!! Mommy won't wake up!" She wails, holding Jayda's unbroken right hand.

Eliot quickly surveys the room, seeing that Jayda wasn't attacked but had collapsed, making him worry even more, nothing should make an adult were collapse like this except silver poisoning.

With Quinn's help Eliot carefully turns Jayda over, noticing faint bruising that was fading as he watched on her left temple where she had obviously hit her head when she fell, once he's checked her for new broken bones they lift her onto the bed gently, Eliot unable to ignore the heat that is coming off her body like a blowtorch.

"Ok, Quinn go into the bathroom and turn the shower on cold, ok? Sarah, go ring your grandpa tell him Jay's sick and we need him here straight away, can you do that for me bug?" Eliot asks, Quinn into the bathroom before Eliot's finished speaking and Sarah giving a shaky nod before heading for the stairs.

Once Sarah's gone Eliot lifts Jayda back into his arms and takes her through to the bathroom and toes off his boots before turning to Quinn "can you empty my pockets man please?" He asks, he's already taken his coat off but his mobile phone and the box with Jayda's engagement ring are in his jeans, so Quinn comes up behind him and empties his back pocket of his wallet, before thrusting both hands into his front pockets and grabbing everything in them all at once, pulling his hands free and turning to drop everything on the counter, then turning back around to push Eliot forward slightly, towards the shower.

Eliot quickly walks into the shower and stands Jayda up on her feet, his arms holding her up as he tips her head back and has the water beat down on it, when that gets no reaction he starts stripping her of her pajamas, the cold water raising goosebumps along her arms and making her nipples tighten and stand proud when he removes her vest top, talking to her all the while, explaining what he's doing, and why, how much he loves her and how she can't leave him and Sarah now because they both need her so, so much.

Sarah comes running into the bathroom, shouting to Eliot "DADDY! GRANDPA SAID TO COOL HER DOWN! HES ON HIS WAY!" Before asking in a quieter voice as she puts her hand against the glass wall of the shower "why won't mommy wake up? What's wrong with her?" Which was a question neither man could answer.

"Get her out of here Quinn, take her downstairs and wait for Diwali, I'll keep Jay here until she wakes up or he arrives, whatever happens first" Eliot asks in a rough voice looking up at the other man for a moment, his face filled with anguish and his eyes begging, Quinn opens his mouth to argue but Eliot just says " _please_ Quinn" before going back to stroking Jayda's face and murmuring into her ear while he adjusts his grip on her.

Quinn nods to Eliot and picks Sarah up to take her downstairs, but she tries to fight him, saying "no! I wanna stay here! I have to stay close to help mommy heal!"

Quinn holds her to his chest as she struggles and tells her "hush bug, Eliot's here looking after her, but he doesn't want you to see your mommy like this because it's upsetting you and neither of them want you to be upset, your grandpa will make her better, we just need to let him in when he arrives, ok?" As he takes her through the bedroom and down the stairs.

"Ok" she answers when she realises she's already lost any argument she might have had, cuddling into Quinn and rubbing her cheek against his jawline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So choices in chronological order are :-
> 
> Prequel - one night in Moscow
> 
> Ruby and Quinn's wedding
> 
> Eliot and Jayda's wedding
> 
> Sarah's big surprise
> 
> Quinn's big surprise
> 
> Samantha's revenge
> 
> The MCU tie in
> 
> Quinn's trauma
> 
> Eliot's huge surprise
> 
> Although some of these stories sound like they're based around other characters (which in a way they are) they're ALL Eliot-centric and these are the main life events stories, I'm hoping as I get more confidence I'll write some job based stories too, so let me know which ones you'd like to see next (I personally would like to write them in this order but it's viewers choice)
> 
> Thanks y'all


	27. Parker leads the dance...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parker and Hardison take advantage of having Diwali's house to themselves for the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is the chapter that y'all begged for, Parker and Hardison getting their nasty on!
> 
> I've finished chapter thirty so here's a chapter for y'all, I hope y'all like it, I think it's disjointed and not right but I don't have a beta reader so you'll all have to live with it, sorry.
> 
> Next chapter you'll all find out what is happening to Jayda and how her family react to it.
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

PARKER/HARDISON

Parker and Hardison watch as Diwali runs out of the house after the call he received and him telling them "there's something wrong with Jayda, I have to go, I won't be back until after midnight, I'll let you know what's happening"

They look at each other for a moment and Parker says "I hope she's ok"

Which Hardison follows with "Eliot must be going _insane_ , he only just got her back!"

Parker bites her lip softly and wraps her arms around him, cuddling in under his arm looking for comfort, he hugs her to him and kisses the top of her head before saying "t.v. Binge? We haven't watched the new season of Game of Thrones yet"

"That sounds good, yeah, but can we watch it in bed? _Pleeeease_?" She wheedles.

"If that's what you want mama, but I remember what happened last time we watched it in bed... all because you had a _thing_ for that actor who played Sir Loras, what's he called... Finn Jones?" Hardison teases.

"What? Why not? He's pretty, he has pretty hair, and one hell of a nice ass, I just prefer my sweets in dark chocolate..." she teases back, before pulling him down for a kiss that quickly becomes hot and heavy.

"Parker.... mama.... lets not... do this... here.... bedroom..." he gets out between kisses, trying not to give in and just take her right there in the kitchen, but feeling his self control slipping with every kiss.

"Ok!" Parker chirps, slipping out under his arms and skipping away towards their bedroom with total confidence that he will follow, which of course he does.

"Hey girl, slow down! Imma comin'" he calls, trying to catch up with her for more kisses.

"Why don't you see if you can do what Nate couldn't, catch me if you can!" She calls back breaking into a sprint and heading out of the side door instead and out towards the woods.

"NAH! UH HUH! NOT GOING OUT IN THE SNOW, DAMMIT COME BACK HERE PARKER! I'M REALLY NOT COMING OUT THERE AFTER YOU!" He shouts out into the night, determined he was NOT going back out in that god awful snow just to catch her and bring her back, he wanted hot lovin' not frozen balls.

He stands there in the doorway with his arms crossed, frowning out into the darkness, looking more like Eliot than he'd ever know, until his fingers start going numb and then shouts out "last chance little mama, you come in now or I start a guild raid on W.o.W. and I'll be too busy to snuggle up with you!"

As his voice fades into the darkness he takes a deep breath and sighs it out slowly, just as he's starting to turn back to the door he sees movement out of the corner of his eye and turns back to see Parker come slinking out of the trees, heading back towards him with her head hanging a little.

When she's close enough he holds his arms out to her and she jogs the last few feet into his embrace, sniffling a little and saying "I'm sorry, I thought it would be fun to go run in the woods together and make love in the snow, I thought you'd like it, it would be another thing we could bug Eliot with, smirking whenever we talked about 'playing in the snow' or 'going running through the woods' I'm really sorry I made you mad" before snuggling deeper into his arms.

"No girl! You didn't make me mad, I just didn't feel like freezing my balls off twice in one day is all, and I love the idea for winding Eliot up, just not tonight, not in the snow" he tells her, stroking her hair to soothe her.

"But if you're not mad why did you stand there looking mad for so long? And you sounded mad too" she asks, not understanding.

"You were there watching me that whole time? I didn't mean to look mad, just determined, so you'd know I meant it, and I didn't know I sounded mad, sorry" he answers making sure she knows he wasn't ever angry with her.

"You know you looked like Eliot when he's grumpy when you were stood there" she says with a little giggle, making him smile at the sound.

"You really got a thing for comparing me to pretty white boys with long hair tonight don't you? I'm just glad you love chocolate so much!" He ribs her before pulling her in through the door and closing it behind them.

"You still wanna watch G.o.T.? Or do you have other ideas?" He asks as he leads her towards the bedroom.

"Well there was that cross stitch I wanted to do..." Parker starts with a completely straight face "so unless you've got something important to do... like make love to me for the first time in a week! I'll be doing my cross stitch and watching cute white boys with pretty hair and sexy asses flaunt about naked on G.o.T.!" She finishes, flicking her hair in his face and stalking off to the bed, where she sits down and picks up the laptop ready to start the 'watch a download' app.

"Hey girl! I like your idea, not the one about the cross stitch, the other one... it's what I had planned for tonight, if it was what you wanted... would you like to?" Hardison asks, unsure whether she was really mad at him as he had been turning down her advances ever since they arrived in Kentucky and he knew she didn't really understand his reasons.

"Why do you suddenly want to when you haven't before? Just because I _complained_? I don't want to if it's because you think you HAVE to!" Parker asks sounding upset.

"No baby! I always want to make love to you, you got no idea how hard it's been turning you down since we got here!" Alec protests, coming to sit on the bed next to her.

"Then why did you turn me down then?" She asks in a small voice.

"Because of Nana, she taught us boys that it was bad manners to have sex when you were a guest in someone else's house, unless it was the owner you were there to sleep with, and that if you're there with your partner, and you know the owner wouldn't mind, then you at least wait until they're not in the house, so you don't disturb them, or they don't have to listen to you at it, because some people really, really hate hearing other people have sex, so that's why I've been turning you down, this is the first time we've been alone in the house and known we're gonna be alone for a few hours, do you understand now?" He finally explains to her.

"I understand, I think, you know I don't really do cross stitch, right?" She answers.

"Yeah baby, I know" he tells her, putting his arms around her, after she puts the laptop down, and cuddling her into him while kissing the top of her head before repeating "I know"

After a few minutes of cuddling Parker starts to fidget, so Alec lets her go asking "what you wanna do, crazy girl?"

"I want you to move, I'm not comfortable, come lay here" she commands indicating the middle of the bed.

"Should I stay dressed or get ready to go to sleep?" He asks, not wanting to waste time having to get up again to undress if she's wanting to cuddle up to sleep or get nasty.

"You may as well get ready to sleep, we're in alone, so the worst that could happen is you going for a snack or drinks for us and Diwali coming home early, and he saw you in your underwear this morning so no big deal" she tells him, so he quickly strips off his jeans and hoodie, and after a moments thought his tshirt too, and lays down where she indicated.

"Here alright?" He asks her, making sure he's in the right spot.

"Yeah that's perfect" she says, picking up his phone and setting it to mute, the same as hers, when he looks at her questioningly she tells him "I don't want us to be disturbed by your friends wanting you to go on a guild raid or anything, don't worry it's only muted not off" smirking at the indignant look he gives her before letting out a snort of amusement, making him smile.

Once she's put the phones on the dressing table she comes back to the bed and undoes her jeans, peeling out of the skin-tight denim and bending over to give him a great view of her green, silk, panty clad ass before throwing the jeans at her bag with her other dirty clothes, then skinning off her Lycra top with the hidden pockets for her lockpicks, again giving Alec a great view because, as usual, she's wearing no bra, it made buying underwear for her cheap, but sometimes he misses the chance to 'unwrap' her properly, not that he would ever _dare_ complain about it!

"Come here girl, I wanna kiss you" he tells her.

"Oooohhhh! You do, do ya? Well what if I don't wanna kiss you? What if i'd rather..." Parker says, climbing onto the bed and crawling up until she's kneeled next to his head by the time she trails off, then swings her leg over his head so that she is kneeling over his face, the crotch of her panties and the pale, creamy skin of her thighs filling his vision, as she leans forward over his body, each of their chests against the upper belly of the other, until her head rests against his lower abs, her golden hair spread across his boxers and his lean muscular thighs like pure honey poured over chocolate ganache.

"Yes ma'am!" He says as she settles, knowing exactly what she wants, he lifts his head and breathes against the clover coloured silk where it covers her hidden surprises, making her sigh out in pleasure in response before whispering " _yes_!"

Once he hears her quiet exclamation he brings his face close again and licks firmly over the silk covering her, making her shudder and mewl at the sensation, before rocking backwards a little making it easier for him to lick her again, using a lot of saliva this time, soaking the fabric of her panties and making them stick to her folds, outlining his prize for him, meaning he can see the target of his next goal.

He reaches up, licking along her inner lips, coming close to where she wants him but then going back to her hole to start again, teasing her with kitten licks that would travel the length of her slit but never quite reach her aching clit, making her more aroused and more desperate with every second that goes by, making her decide to take control again after just a few minutes of this teasing.

"Now Alec!" She commands as she moves back further, pushing herself against his face and surprising him a little because he hadn't realised quite how desperate she'd gotten over the past week, but he knows when to do as he's told, he was trained well, and Nana would kick his ass if she ever heard otherwise, so he licks at her clit, hard and quickly, repeating the move until her thighs start to shake in his peripheral vision, making him raise his hands up to her hips to keep her steady as he continues, until right when he knows she's at the edge, because of the tight grip she has on the flesh of his thighs, when he sucks her clit in between his teeth and grinds it slowly between them while sucking making her shout out "yes! Alec! Don't stop! More!" Which are orders he's happy to carry out.

He slowly gentles his sucking and stimulating of her clit, letting her come down, before he uses the fingers of one hand to pull her panties to one side so he can lick at her and taste her release, before licking a few swipes over her clit, running his tongue around the edge and soothing where his teeth have made her sensitive.

As he does this she leans down against him more and raises her ass, making her pussy pout at him from between her white, rose-petal soft, thighs, tempting him to lick at her again, starting with her clit this time, stroking over it quickly, again and again until she pushes back towards him again and says "please!, please Hardison!, need it!"

At her words he lifts his head more, pulling her panties to one side so far they're on her thigh now and then plunging his tongue into her hole, forcing it in as far as he can get and licking at her g-spot, his thumb on his free hand coming to rub over her clit, giving her double the stimulation, making her fly into her orgasm, her channel squeezing his tongue hard and her thighs clamping around his head as he continues to lick at her, prolonging her pleasure for as long as he can, making sure he gets to taste all of her release.

As she calms down and catches her breath she reaches inside his boxer shorts and draws his long hard cock out through the slit, gripping him firmly and pulling downwards, quickly settling into a smooth, firm, rhythm, as she stimulates him, making him groan and his eyes roll in their sockets.

"No, stop! Park! I said stop! I'm getting too close baby, come up here and give me a kiss? Please?" He begs of her, not wanting to blow his load before having her.

"Ok! Can I ride you? I really wanna ride you..." she answers as she swings her leg from over his head, then turning around until she's in the right place to kiss him and lay next to him, but before doing either she removes her panties and adds them to her pile of laundry, then lays along his side and kisses him, rubbing herself harshly against his protruding hipbone making her moan into their kiss loudly, Alec swallowing the moan gladly.

"So you wanna ride me do ya? What if I say no?" He teases, loving to hear her take control and command him.

"Then I'll handcuff you and do it anyway, after putting a cock ring on you so you can't cum" she replies smugly, running her nails down his neck, down his chest and belly and over his cock and balls firmly, making sure he knows who's in control between them.

"Oh god yes! Parker! C'mere baby, want you..." he moans in reply, pulling her over him, so that she's laid over the length of his front, while he kisses her savagely and she parts her legs, bringing her knees up so she can ride him.

She's quickly in the right position to slide down onto him and moans as she sits upright on him, wriggling a little to get him fully seated inside her, before raising up and sliding along his cock then slamming back down on it roughly, she continues this slow pace for a few minutes teasing him and using him for her pleasure rather than worrying about what he wants, that would come later.

His hands have been resting on her knees since she started but now he starts to slide them along her thighs heading for her hips, to try and take control of her movements, even though he knows that when Parker is in one of these moods he has no chance of having even an iota of control over what they do.

But his hands never reach their destination, instead Parker grabs them both, bringing one up to her breast and the other across to her mound, knowing what she wants he starts to play with her nipple, once he's started that he turns his attention to his other hand, slowly stroking along the thin strip of golden hair that leads down over her mound and around her lips, stroking over it again and again until she growls at him "I swear Alec, I'm not a _fucking_ kitten, stop teasing me!" To which he smiles his biggest grin up at her and says "yes, ma'am!" Immediately sliding his thumb between her lips and brushing over her clit very gently.

"Alec!" She growls again, making him smile innocently up at her until she digs her short but sharp nails into his chest, to which he says "not a kitten my _ass_!" Making her drag them down his chest onto his upper abs leaving thick welts in their wake.

"Oowww mama, no need for that! You know I'll give you what you need!" He exclaims, pressing on her clit harder with his thumb and circling it as he presses, stimulating all around the edge of her sensitive nub, making her tighten and squeeze down on him inside her, making him moan.

"Oh! Yes! More!" She calls out, grinding herself backwards and forwards over his thumb, trapping it between their two pelvic bones while she rubs against it harshly, until she begins to shake and jerk with each move.

"C'mon mama! Take it!" He cries, pressing against her as hard as possible while thrusting up into her, to give her the extra stimulation she needs to tip her into her orgasm making her bite her lip hard before screaming out her pleasure.

She flops forwards over him, kissing him over and over again, whispering praise for his skills between each kiss, making his chest swell with pride with every word, then suddenly she tightens down on him, crushing his cock with her inner muscles that are just as strong as all her other muscles.

"Oh! Yeah, squeeze me hard then ride me harder!" He exclaims, making her roll her eyes at his 'porno dirty talk' that is so cliched it's hilarious.

"Oh I'm gonna ride you alright!" She replies, sitting back up, now she's caught her breath and calmed down, and slowly starting to bounce on his length, squeezing hard on every downstroke, making him glad he was circumcised or this would be _painful_ , as it is it's just making him move quickly towards his orgasm, but he knows that if he cums before she's ready she'll punish him in terrible ways.

"Hey baby you keep going like that and I'll finish no matter how hard I fight it, ease up, lets just enjoy this, alright?" He cajoles, trying to get her to gentle the force of her movements.

She looks at him consideringly as she continues to bounce before changing to grinding backwards and forwards, meanwhile she brings one hand down behind her and slowly, gently trails her nails over his balls while she moves, grinding her clit on his pelvis, her stroking her nails over his balls just making him more sensitive to every touch and move she uses on him, until she again begins to shake and gasp as she leans on her hand that she's rested on his thigh as she frantically rubs her clit against the hard arch of his pelvic bone until she screams out again, tightening around him and wetting his balls just a little as she cums again.

After a short while of his balls being stroked and massaged again while Parker moves on top of him she brings her hand forward again and places both of them on his pecs, using them for support as she leans over and kisses him again, but slowly and sweetly this time, more loving than desperate as she moves slowly and sinuously on top of him, using her full body to move over him before saying "your turn baby, what do you want?"

Alec looks at her, his eyes half lidded and replies "want you to stand up and go face the mirror"

Parker looks at him quizzically then shrugs and slowly raises herself up off of his length then moves from over him to go stand in front of the dressing table and it's attached mirror.

Almost as soon as she's stood there Alec is stood behind her, kissing her neck and wrapping his arms around her waist, his dark skin making her paleness appear even more white in comparison but still looking strikingly beautiful because they are so different.

"Ok mama, want you to put one arm around my neck and the other on my hip, I'm gonna lift you and when I do I want you to put your feet against the edge of the dressing table then I want you to watch us together, watch yourself while we both feel pleasure together, see how beautiful you look when you cum for me, can you do that?" He asks, letting her know what he's going to do.

"I can do that" she pants out, just the thought of what he wants to do enough to excite and stimulate her.

At her words she puts one am up over his shoulder and around his neck the other reaching behind her and grabbing his hip ready to support herself with that hand, Alec then reaches down and grabs the tops of both thighs and lifts them forwards, bringing her knees up towards her chest until she can get the soles of her feet on the edge of the dressing table.

Now they're in the right position he says to her "I need you to reach down and line me up so I can get into you, can you do that please?" She quickly brings her hand down from behind his neck and down between her legs, grasping his hot, pulsing cock and lining him up, until she tips her hips slightly and his head is inside her, making him groan and thrust upwards, making her yelp a little as she's still leaning forwards and is a little unsteady without her arm around his neck.

"Sorry' I didn't mean to do that, you ok now?" He asks once she has her arm back around his neck.

"Mmmm, yeah, feels really good" she moans out to him, but when he looks at her in the mirror her head is resting backwards on his shoulder and she has her eyes closed.

"Hey eyes open remember? Want you to see what I see when you're at the height of your pleasure" he reminds her, kissing the exposed neck in front of him as he starts making long, slow thrusts into her, holding her legs apart so he can see his long, dark length disappearing into her pale pink centre forcefully, the sight driving him to make his thrusts firmer but not faster, driving into her with his full length over and over again, wishing he had an extra hand to rub her clit with.

Just as he thinks this her hand moves from his hip and comes around to her pussy, using her fingers she holds open her lips, she spreads them giving him a direct view of her swollen deep red clit, so much darker than the rest of her pussy, full of blood and erect with desire for him.

She dips her fingers down to around where he's entering her, collecting the wetness that's escaping from her hole each time he pulls back, before bringing her fingers back up to hold her lips open again and rubbing gently over her clit with her wet middle finger, making her tighten around his thrusting girth as she shivers in pleasure and lets out a mewling moan, her arm tightening around his neck to bring his lips to the skin of her throat.

"Oh! Alec, _yes_!" She calls out, staring at her reflection, watching herself as she rubs her finger around the outer edge of her clit which stands out from her flesh like a big red button, she takes her finger and quickly flicks over the centre of her clit gently a couple of dozen times, her movements getting less precise with each move before bringing her fingers down again to where they're joined, holding her fingers against his cock, taking her natural lubricant from his length and using it to wet her fingers again before coming to rub her clit again, firmly and roughly this time.

As she does she feels herself tighten on him, squeezing him harshly as her orgasm approaches, making her pant and moan at the combined sensations of seeing and feeling him thrust into her at the same time.

As she rubs even harder at her clit she can feel him ramming over her g-spot, making her feel like she's right on the edge of her orgasm, desperate to fall into her completion, she just needs one small thing, something to push her over the edge, but she has no idea what!

As she thinks this Alec lets go of one of her thighs and brings his hand up to her pert, firm breast, taking hold of her nipple and twisting it making her _scream_ as she tightens and cums, squeezing his length as he hammers into her for a few moments more until she feels him swell slightly just before he fills her with his cum groaning all the while.

Once they're both calmer and more steady Alec lifts Parker down and makes sure she's steady on her feet before slowly pulling out of her and turning her so he can kiss her, as he does she pushes him gently, slowly walking him backwards until they reach the bed, and then pushes him down onto it, he gets the message and shoves himself backwards until he's moved up the bed far enough his back is up against the padded headboard, then he beckons her to come to him and she slowly smiles at him as she crawls up beside him and snuggles into his arms, lifting her face to him so he can kiss her, and there are no words between them as he continues to hold and kiss her until they both finally slip into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, after rereading the list of next instalment choices I realised i'd put them in the wrong order (d'oh!) so here is the revised order...
> 
>  
> 
> Prequel - one night in Moscow
> 
> Ruby and Quinn's wedding
> 
> Eliot and Jayda's wedding
> 
> The MCU tie in
> 
> Eliot's huge surprise
> 
> Quinn's big surprise
> 
> Sarah's big surprise
> 
> Quinn's trauma
> 
> Samantha's revenge
> 
> And always last will be :-
> 
> Team Leverage 3.0
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks y'all


	28. Fever passes...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda is found collapsed and Quinn, Eliot and Diwali fight to save her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the writing is going well, so even though I haven't finished the chapter I'm writing I'm close enough I thought i'd post this, is nothing else then to put Ellievengance out of her misery, she's been very patient whilst driving herself mad, so this one is for you Ellie!
> 
> Only had a couple of votes so looks like I'll be writing Quinn and Ruby's wedding next, followed by the smutfest that will be one night in Moscow.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one darlin's

JAYDA/ELIOT/QUINN

Eliot is still holding Jayda up under the freezing cold water, she's been stripped down to her panties and he's only wearing his jeans and he's so cold his teeth are chattering, but she's still giving off heat like the surface of the sun, making him feel like his belly is burning where it's pressed against her, and he's panicking, scared of what this means, is she dying? Has she been poisoned? He doesn't know what to do except what he is and it's not _enough_!

By now his arms are completely numb from the cold and he's having trouble holding onto her properly, he's just starting to worry that he's gonna drop her when Quinn comes back into the room, alone luckily.

"What's wrong Quinn?" Eliot demands, being shorter with his friend than he intends.

"I just came to check on you, Sarah will let Diwali in when he arrives, is there anything I can do?" Quinn asks, sounding a little more concerned than Eliot would have expected.

" _Dammit_!" Eliot exclaims as his grip on Jayda slips because he can't feel any part of his arms and hands anymore, even most of his chest is now numb meaning he can't feel if she's cooling down any, he really doesn't want to ask but it's becoming obvious he needs Quinn's help.

"I need your help, I can't feel my hands or arms and I can't tell if she's cooled down any, and I'm scared I'm gonna drop her, can you come help me? Please?" He asks, the tears of frustration, worry and terror hidden amongst the spray of the shower, but very obvious in his voice.

"No problem" Quinn answers, stripping off his shirt and pants before opening the shower door and stepping up beside Eliot, putting his hand on his shoulder to make sure he knew he was there, before going to step around to the other side of Jayda.

It's then he's stopped by Eliot "Quinn I know after earlier this is a terrible thing to ask but I need you to take my jeans off, or I'm goin' to soak the whole bedroom when we take her out of here, I'm sorry I know after what we agreed..." but Quinn cuts him off there.

"Forget about earlier for now, it's not important, Jayda is, so suck it in" he jokes lamely as he reaches around Eliot and undoes his jeans before pulling them down to his ankles for him.

"Don't try to step out of them yet, wait until I've got a grip on Jayda ok?" He tells him, standing back up and moving around to behind Jayda, moving right up against her back and dipping his shoulder down so it's under her head, supporting her, before checking her temperature and finding her slightly cooler but still way too hot, then wrapping his arms around her chest and under her arms, trying to ignore how he has to hold onto the front of her by the only available area, her breasts.

"I'm sorry I have to hold her up this way" he says to Eliot, feeling both guilty and somehow _wrong_ about it, like he was molesting her, especially after what she'd just been through.

"That's okay, I know she'll understand" Eliot answers, just as they both hear the bathroom door opening as Diwali comes in.

"Is she any cooler?" He demands to know straight away while giving Eliot and Quinn a disapproving look at the fact the three of them are all in there together in nothing but a pair of shorts each and Quinn has his hands on her chest.

"She's a little cooler but not enough, even water cold enough to make Eliot go so numb he can't hold her up anymore hasn't worked, what do we do?" Quinn answers.

After a moments thought he says "bring her out lets get her laid on the bed, give me two minutes to get everything ready" before going to the cabinet and pulling out a large stack of towels and going into the bedroom.

"You're goin' to have to carry her for me, my arms are too numb, is that ok?" Eliot asks Quinn, looking at him beseechingly.

"Of course it's ok! I'd do anything either of you need, you're family" he says a little shyly, Eliot looking at him and quirking the corner of his mouth up slightly to let him know the comment is appreciated.

Just then Diwali returns, and opens the shower door indicating that they should bring her out, after a little manoeuvring they get her into Quinn's arms and he carries her out of the shower and through into the bedroom, followed by Eliot after he's turned the shower off and has grabbed them a large towel each, once he's followed them out and Quinn has put her down on the bed Eliot hands Quinn a towel wordlessly while he watches Diwali work.

Diwali does all the usual checks a medical professional would when walking into an unknown situation and finds most of her body's responses are wrong, her heart rate and blood pressure are through the roof, as is her body temperature, her breathing is laboured and very fast, but shallow and when he tries to check her eyes she whips her head away from the light and strikes out at his hand holding the small torch, the first physical reaction Eliot's seen since he arrived home and Sarah found her like this.

After covering her in just a thin sheet off the bed Diwali comes to talk to Eliot "I'll just leave you to it" Quinn says quietly, turning to leave, before Eliot stops him.

"No, Quinn, stay, please, I could use the support" Eliot replies just as quietly before turning to speak to Diwali.

"Diwali, what's wrong with her? Why won't she wake up?" He asks all in a rush.

"Eliot, I wish I knew, some of the symptoms are similar to meningitis but that isn't something that should affect her now, the only thing that I've seen happen to a were even remotely like this isn't possible for her either so I'm totally at a loss, I doubt the hospital can help either, I don't know wha..." Diwali is explaining when suddenly Jayda _screams_.

All three men rush to the bed and find her convulsing under the sheet, her back arching upwards until only her heels and shoulders are touching the bed, her fingers clawed and locked, after a full minute of this she suddenly goes limp and flops back down on the bed bonelessly, still unconscious.

"Diwali, what's the thing that's impossible? We need to consider every option..." Eliot asks sounding desperate "I can't lose her now..." he adds quietly.

After a moment to clear his thoughts Diwali takes a deep breath and heaves it out before starting "once when I was still training to be a Shaman and a doctor there was a family where the father was much like your own, only he discovered what his son was when he was only six months old, when he caught his wife Changing, he'd spent every day since then telling his son how awful weres were, how much he should hate them and want them all dead, he was training him to be a were-hater thinking it would stop the boy from Changing somehow, one day when the boy was seven the father called in a panic saying the boy had a very high fever and had lost consciousness, we arrived at the house not long before the boy started convulsing and tearing at his own skin, as if trying to shed his skin, it was horrific to watch, after about an hour of this his body started trying to Change, one limb would begin to start Changing then stop partway, leaving him in an agony of twisted misshapen flesh, that he was unable to Change one way or the other, the father demanded that we 'cure' him of being a were, take away the part of him that was Wolf, he didn't believe us that we didn't have the ability to do that, that it wasn't possible, eventually the boy died, after hours of being in this agony, looking nothing like a human or a wolf, his mother was heartbroken, as I'm sure you understand, and she told us everything about how he'd trained the boy to hate all things were, and the old Shaman Talking Grasses told us that that was what had gone wrong, the boy had been fighting too hard against the Change because he hated weres so much he literally fought the Change until it killed him, he'd been trained to hate his own kind that much, Jayda is showing the same symptoms that boy did, but it's impossible, she doesn't hate weres she loves one, and her daughter is one, she's not a were herself, only a newly turned half-were and she's too old, she's not a child, that's why it's impossible" he explains, the colour draining out of Eliot's face as the story progresses until he's a strange grey colour.

"Are you sure this isn't possible? Could it be she's rejectin' the change into a half-were? How do I help her?" Eliot says his voice raising in pitch and volume until he's almost shouting, the panic in his voice easily evident.

"Eliot stop! You know I'm going to do everything I can for her, she's my daughter, I love her too!" Diwali tells him in a quiet controlled voice before turning to Quinn "Quinn could you come and help me with a few things please?" He requests indicating the door with his head while Eliot kneels next to the bed and picks her hand up, cradling it up to his face so he can nuzzle it gently.

"El? I'll just be helping Diwali downstairs, I won't be long ok?" Quinn tells him, getting a small dismissive wave in response before he leaves the room.

"Diwali what is it? What can I do?" Quinn asks the minute they're out of the room.

"Do you still have the item I gave you at the hospital?" Diwali replies.

"Yes, I've meant to give it back ever since, I've got it in my jacket pocket downstairs, should I get it?" Quinn enquires.

"Yes, thank god you have it with you!" Diwali exclaims "please bring it here quickly"

Quinn runs down the stairs meaning to retrieve the amulet when he's brought up short at the bottom of the stairs by the sight of Sarah laid in front of the fire with her arms wrapped around a young wolf, for a moment he's terrified for her safety before he remembers Eliot telling them both about the pup he'd found injured and puts the pieces together that this is _that_ pup.

Not wanting to disturb Sarah or scare the pup he quietly goes to where he'd brought all the bags in with Sarah once Diwali had been called and finds the jacket he'd been wearing that morning, going into the inside pocket he pulls out the two items inside, the box with Ruby's engagement ring in it and the wolf-soul amulet wrapped in a piece of velvet Ruby had given him for it, as soon as he has hold of it he sprints back to the staircase and up, copying Eliot's move and using the newel post to whip himself around at the top and straight into the bedroom.

"Here it is" he says quietly to Diwali as Jayda's extremities spasm and shake, her hand almost crushing Eliot's where he has hold of her hand to comfort her, and Quinn can't help noticing that Eliot has started scratching at himself, rather roughly, he has welts just healing on the back of his neck where he'd scratched while Quinn had been downstairs.

"Thank you, now Eliot, move aside a moment, let us see if this helps..." Diwali says, leaning over his daughter and putting the amulet around her neck, the chain so long it rests on her upper abs below her breasts.

At first nothing happens, but then, slowly, her muscles start to relax, all the locked limbs return to a normal resting state, and Eliot lets out a long sigh with a hint of a moan to it.

"Eliot? Are you ok?" Quinn asks, noticing for the first time that Eliot is quite pale compared to normal.

"Yeah, she's in a lot less pain now is all, but she feels.... jumbled?... I don't know how else to describe it" he tells them, confusing Quinn a little but shocking Diwali.

"You can sense her mind through your Bond? You can tell what she's thinking?" The Shaman exclaims.

"I can't tell what she's thinkin' exactly, it's not like I can read her mind, just sense the shape? No, more like tides as her mind works, sometimes, and right now it's more like instinct, she's not consciously thinkin' anythin', I think she's still out cold" he explains, feeling like he's missing the target but at least isn't far off.

Just as Diwali goes to ask another question Jayda starts to pant, very quickly, like someone hyperventilating, she brings her arms up, pushing the sheet down to her waist and starts to scratch at her belly and breasts with clawed fingers, her teeth elongate and she suddenly breaks out in sweat, Quinn and Eliot grab an arm each, trying to stop her from clawing at herself, but as soon as they pull her hands away from her body her panting changes to deep growls and she snaps at Quinn with her fully elongated teeth.

Straight away Diwali raises his voice and says "let go of her!" Finally sure what's happening, not knowing how it's possible, but having seen this play out before in a much milder way for children.

As soon as Diwali has spoken both men let go of her arms and step back from the bed, Eliot trying to keep hold of her hand but Jayda pulling it away from him to resume scratching.

"Eliot you need to get on the bed and pull the sheet away from Jayda, and then you need to Change, as soon as you have I need you to nuzzle and scent mark Jayda's neck and cheeks as much as you can, alright?" Diwali commands.

"Ok, but why? What's happenin' to her?" Eliot asks his voice starting to sound both growly and whining.

"Because you need to show her how it's done, and let her know she is loved, because she's about to have her first Change" Diwali answers.

"WHAT! But how?" He asks.

"We don't have the time for these questions now, you need to Change, she needs you to Change, NOW!" Diwali tells him, his fear for his daughter starting to sound in his voice.

At this Eliot moves to climb onto the bed before hesitating and looking at his still wet boxers, rolling his eyes at himself for his stupid hesitation he quickly peels them off and then climbs onto the bed, pulling the sheet down off Jayda and then looking at the two other men.

"Erm... I'm not sure she'd be ok with bein' naked in front of you both after everythin', could you both turn around? Please?" He asks feeling very awkward.

Quinn immediately turns his back, he has no wish to upset either of the people on the bed, or his father-in-law to be, Diwali looks Eliot in the eye for a moment and nods then says "look after her Eliot, she's going to be scared" before also turning away and going to talk to Quinn.

As Eliot removes Jayda's shorts from her and murmurs in her ear before starting to Change, Diwali says to Quinn "I know you've seen Eliot as a wolf but this is going to be different, Jayda will have no idea what is happening to her, it will make her scared and dangerous, you mustn't approach her or stop her from going where she wishes, not just because she might attack you if she feels threatened but because if what you're doing is upsetting her Eliot might attack, it's his natural instinct to protect her, and that includes from anything that upsets her or scares her, alright?"

"Yes sir, I understand, I just want her to be ok" Quinn replies while picking at the towel around his waist.

"Thank you for being such a good friend to them, Quinn, it is appreciated by many of us" Diwali praises him, followed quickly by a growl then a whine from Eliot.

In concern Quinn turns to look over his shoulder to check Jayda is still ok and finds her arched up again with only her heels and shoulders touching the bed, he starts to turn towards the bed again only to hear a deeper much more threatening growl from Eliot, making him turn back again and look at Diwali worriedly.

Eliot is rubbing his scent glands against Jayda's neck and cheeks, over and over again, filling her nose with his 'more' Wolf scent and whining to let her know he's worried about her, he has his side of the Bond wide open as well, so he can feel the pain she's in and the unconscious fear she's feeling, she's terrified and there is nothing more he can do to help her!

Once her body relaxes back down he lays down along her side, still licking and scenting her, but wanting her to feel how close he is while he tries to his best to 'talk' to her through the Bond and tell her to stop fighting it, let the Change happen, that they'll all still love her the same no matter what and that he wants to run with her, followed by memories of running as a wolf, how it feels, what it looks like through wolf eyes and the exhilaration of a chase in the woods.

As soon as he finishes sending these mental movies she half-screams half-growls and there is a sound like bones dislocating that carries on for about fifteen seconds followed by clicks and thunks as they relocate into the correct position, the sound of her panting breaths _changes_ , but it is impossible to explain quite _how_ as she is still panting and whining, after about a minute more she growls, yelps, and then there is the sound of a large dog doing a full body shake.

At this sound Diwali and Quinn turn around and are greeted by the sight of a huge black wolf that they already recognise and a slightly smaller pure white one they don't, they're stood on the bed, staring into each other's eyes, until Eliot turns to face them and comes to stand between Jayda and the two men, lowering his head as he looks at Diwali as if he's done something wrong and is waiting for punishment.

"Don't worry Eliot, you're not in trouble, I don't think this was anyone's fault, but we'll talk about it later, alright? Can I see my daughter?" He asks moving to go around Eliot towards where Jayda is on the bed, but he's pulled up short by a low menacing growl from Eliot.

"I'm not going to hurt her Eliot, I just want to remove the wolf-soul amulet from around her neck, so it won't catch on anything while you are both running" he explains to the black wolf, getting a considering look until Jayda comes up beside him and sits down, then very slowly reaches her head forward and licks her father's hand tentatively, he smiles down at her and strokes under her chin before he kneels down next to the bed and slowly puts his arms around her neck and undoes the clasp on the chain the amulet is on, once it's loose he lets go of it and just hugs Jayda around her neck, whispering in her ear "you're beautiful, a pure white wolf, you are a first for the pack in so many ways, I love you" then slowly lets go of her, picks up the amulet and chain and moves to stand next to Quinn.

"I'm going to go down and open the door so you can both go running, do you want to take Sarah?" He asks, watching as Eliot slowly nods his head up and down in reply "I'll tell her to Change then" he replies before leaving the room.

Eliot comes over to Quinn and sits in front of him, cocking his head to one side and looking him in the eye before leaning forward and licking his hand carefully while keeping eye contact, Quinn gets the message, not that he needs telling, he knows what they agreed, never will he talk about what has just happened between them, Eliot's secret is safe with him, just as he thinks this Jayda comes up beside Eliot, rubbing herself along his full length to scent mark him before leaning forward and licking Quinn's hand too, her eyes looking fearfully up into his, making him smile down into hers and risk stroking over her head and behind her ears, until Eliot growls at him in jealousy and he pulls his hand back, making Jayda snap playfully at Eliot's muzzle to let him know that wasn't acceptable.

Just then Eliot lifts his muzzle and turns towards the door before nudging Jayda's muzzle with his nose to encourage her to turn around, before leading her out of the room and down the stairs, once they reach the bottom they both greet Sarah who is a little shy when it comes to Jayda but soon accepts her and starts rubbing up against her side until Eliot goes to the slightly open back door and chuffs at them both, telling them to come with him as he slips out of the door, closely followed by his mate and their pup, all three disappearing into the woods in seconds, leaving Diwali and Quinn to take care of everything in the house until they return.

DIWALI/QUINN

"Is it safe having the wolf in the house?" Quinn asks Diwali after the three werewolves have disappeared into the darkness, worried that the pup might try to attack him.

"It's safe, Abigail said he seems to be tame, and I noticed the same thing last night, his actions are more like a dog than a wild wolf" Diwali explains while going over to the pup and stroking his head.

"Has he got a name?" Quinn asks, curious about this distant cousin to his friend.

"Well Abigail and I have been calling him Wahya, and he seems to like it" he replies, now scratching the wolfs ears.

"I've never heard that word before, what does it mean?" Quinn asks, hating to show his ignorance.

"It's Cherokee, it means Wolf, I know it's a little simple but it seems to fit him, somehow" he explains to the hitter, not thinking he's ignorant at all, after all Cherokee is not exactly widely spoken outside the tribespeople themselves.

"So what do we do while we wait?" Quinn asks looking at the huge pile of shopping bags and thinking of the mess in the bathroom and bedroom upstairs.

"We clean up the mess, you call Ruby and explain what's happening and then we wait for them to return" Diwali tells him with authority.

"Ok I'll go upstairs and get dressed and then sort out the bathroom and bedroom, if that's alright?" Quinn replies.

"Yes that's fine, I'll see to whatever Jayda had been cooking and clean up down here, then I'll come up and help you if you're not finished" Diwali agrees, before turning towards the kitchen as Quinn quickly runs over to one of the bags in the pile and pulls out some boxer shorts before he heads for the stairs.

Diwali goes straight to the two pans that are simmering on the stove and lifts the lid of the smaller one, instantly he recognises Jayda's secret recipe soup, a recipe even he doesn't know, so rather than mess it up he just stirs it, puts the lid on and turns the heat down to a low simmer to make sure it doesn't burn.

Next he lifts the lid of the larger pot and sees their family recipe for rabbit stew, which seems to be nearly done, so he tastes a small amount, finds it near perfect, and just turns the heat down a little before giving it a good stir and putting the lid back on.

Then he turns to the living room, he starts by moving the huge pile of shopping bags until they're neatly lined up in front of the bookcases out of the way, then he moves to the couches, he takes all the items that Jayda uses for artworks and puts them back on the dining table along with her laptop, before taking each blanket and folding them back up and putting them away, all except for three which he takes and places on the end of the table, ready for when they all come back from their run.

Meanwhile Quinn has changed out of his wet boxers into the new pair and has gotten redressed before using his towel to dry the tile floor of the bathroom, then goes and hangs Eliot's clothes and Jayda's pajamas up on the hooks in the shower to drip dry before they get added to the laundry.

Once this is done he comes through to the bedroom, and looks at the bed, and then realises what is still on the bed, all three of Jayda's casts are laid there meaning if she's not fully healed she'll need them redoing tomorrow, Quinn makes a mental note to tell Diwali and moves the casts onto the vanity chair, not really knowing what else to do with them.

After doing that he gathers up the towels that Diwali had laid out on the bed for them to lay Jayda on and puts most of them into the laundry before taking the two driest and folding them over the side of the bath.

Next Quinn comes to check if the bed is wet or if the towels had managed to protect the sheets completely, luckily the towels had done their job and the sheet on the bed is dry, and thanks to the heat that had been coming off of Jayda the top sheet is dry too, meaning he can just fix the sheets and put the duvet onto the bed ready for them, as he gets the remaining part of the duvet into its cover he notices a pillow and empty case on the floor underneath where it had been laying, so he gets the duvet finished and on the bed and then adds the pillow too once he's got it's case on.

Looking around the room Quinn can't see anything else that needs fixing up and he's just turning towards the doorway when he sees something glint on the floor, he bends to pick it up in case it's something sharp that someone could be hurt on, but finds himself again holding Eliot's ring, he thinks for a moment before making a decision and going to the box he'd retrieved it from the day before and gently laying it inside, ready for when Eliot returns.

It's then that Quinn remembers the things he took out of Eliot's pockets, which include the ring box they'd just collected from the jewellers that day, and he knows he can't risk leaving it where Jayda might see it, but he remembers Ruby telling him that the chest of drawers he'd interrupted them having sex on was the one meant for Eliot, so he picks up all of the things he'd taken from Eliot's pockets and moves them into the top drawer, which is indeed full of Eliot's clothes.

After that he checks around again making sure there is nothing else he's forgotten or that needs tidying up, once he's satisfied it's all done he heads out of the room and nearly runs into Diwali on the stairs because he wasn't paying attention.

"Quinn! Are you alright?" Diwali asks him, gripping his arm to make sure neither of them fall down the stairs.

"Oh! I'm fine I was just thinking about Ruby, I should call her" he replies as he starts to head back down the stairs, being preceded by Diwali.

"Very well, I'll go and light the fire" Diwali tells him squeezing his shoulder before walking away into the living room.

Quinn dials Ruby's number from memory, and waits while it rings until he's answered by Jane saying "hello?"

"Hey Tazzie it's Quinn, is your mommy about?" He asks.

"Mommys outside, some of the men are fighting and she's trying to deal with it" Jane replies sounding terrified.

"Is Bruce there sweetheart?" He asks quickly.

"No, mommy sent him into town to do something, some of the other men are trying to help but they all just keep getting louder and louder!" She tells him, breaking into tears at the end.

"Ok, Tazzie listen to me, I'm on my way back from Jayda's, I'm only gonna be a few minutes ok? Stay inside and just watch from the window, I'll see you real soon, alright?" He tells her.

"A... a... alright" she answers before adding "please be quick" and hanging up.

Quinn starts across the living room and calls out to Diwali "there's some trouble at the horse farm, I've gotta go, is it ok if I take Jayda's truck?"

"Of course you can, are they ok?" Diwali asks.

"They are right now but I've gotta hurry, I think the keys are in... got them, I'll call and let you know what's happening once it's all sorted" he says as he picks up Eliot's jacket and checks the pockets for the keys, before heading to the door and offering Diwali a promise to help him keep calm.

With that Quinn is out of the door and into the truck, revving the engine before speeding off under the tree-lined driveway.

Diwali turns back into the living room, sitting on a couch the pup limps over to him and sits down putting his head in the Shaman's lap, whining gently until the old man starts to pet him and says "looks like it's just you and me for a while then Wahya" before settling back and waiting for the family's return.

JAYDA/ELIOT

Jayda is running, trying to keep up with Eliot-Mate but her front foot (hand?) is starting to scream whenever she puts her weight on it and she doesn't think she can take much more, just as she thinks this her leg collapses out from underneath her, making her yelp in pain as she rolls to a stop before a blinding pain shoots from the base of her skull to the base of her spine, making her whine out loudly as her limbs start to hurt as well, within a minute she's a naked woman, sat in the snow, holding her wrist to her chest between her breasts, whining softly in her throat as she begins to shiver.

Hearing her yelp Eliot returns to her to find out what is wrong, and upon seeing her Change back unexpectedly he decides to Change too so that he can talk to her.

Thirty seconds later Eliot is a man again and has his arms wrapped around Jayda, asking her what happened.

"My.... my wrist, I mean foot, errr... whatever... was hurtin' really badly and then the joint twisted wrong and my leg collapsed out from under me, I rolled to a stop and then felt like i'd been struck by lightenin' right down my spine, before I knew it I was back to two legs again, what's goin' on Eliot?" She asks after clearing her throat when the first word comes out as a growl.

"Short answer, you're a were now, a full one, we don't know how but your dad will talk to us about it all when we get back, how do you feel about it?" He asks her worriedly, hoping she's not going to hate him for this.

"I'm happy, but it's all new and kinda scary right now, I'm just glad I have you here with me, and you too" she says pulling Sarah-pup against her hip to include her in this family group.

"Will Changin' always hurt like this? You never seemed to be in pain when I've seen you Change" she asks snuggling into his arms as she shivers.

"No the first two or three times aches a bit while your body adjusts to Changin' but after that it's nuthin', maybe an ache when you have knotted or pulled muscles, but it does hurt when you have broken bones, so that's probably why you're hurtin' badly, you should Change back, it's too cold to be human out here, we'll run slower and head back around to the house ok?" He tells her hoping it'll reassure her that she won't always be left in pain by Changing.

"Ok, but first..." she starts before leaning in and whispering as quietly as she can into his ear "when we get there can we send Sarah in and then go back into the trees? I want you" then pulls back to look him in the eyes as she bites her lip.

"Not tonight, once your wrist is better we will, but indoors tonight ok? We're havin' that nice hot bath remember?" He answers, leaning forward to kiss her gently and slowly until her shivering gets so bad he has to stop.

"C'mon you start Changin' first ok?" He tells her, standing up and moving a few steps away while Jayda rolls her shoulders and closes her eyes, almost straight away she begins to Change, putting his mind at rest that she might fight it or not be able to do it at will, once she's well into her Change he begins his and they both finish at about the same time, both shaking themselves before going to each other and rubbing their jaws against each other, once they've greeted each other and Sarah Eliot turns them towards the house, moving as fast as Jayda could comfortably while Sarah would run ahead before coming back grinning at them and run circles around them before going off ahead again.

Eventually the house comes into sight, it's distant along the lake shore, maybe about five minutes to get to at the speed they've been going at, Sarah comes bounding up in front of the two adults bouncing from one side to the other in puppy excitement, obviously wanting to run ahead to the house since she can let herself in, so Eliot chuffs at her and indicates that she should go on ahead, at seeing this she turns and is running full tilt at the house without even a look back straight away, amusing both of her parents.

All the time they've been out of the house Jayda and Eliot have been communicating through the Bond, using pictures rather than words because thinking in words is hard when you're in wolf form, and pictures travel over the Bond better for some reason, and now that Sarah has run ahead Eliot sends Jayda a very suggestive image of two wolves together, rubbing against each other as if scent marking each other before one bites the other on the neck as if they were about to start mating, Jayda can feel it's meant as a question but is not quite sure why, as they've been scenting each other the whole time they've been out and he'd already said no to anything intimate because of her hand/forefoot injury, so she turns her head to look at him and just sends an image of a giant question mark to try to show him how confused she is.

At that he huffs out a wolf laugh and comes to rub his jaw along hers before playfully chewing at the tip of her ear gently, then leaning away from her to look her in the eye before pouncing on her and rolling her into the bushes, wrestling with each other, both trying to pin the other until Eliot manages to get the upper hand and pins Jayda by the back of her neck, her belly in the snow as he moves to stand over her, pulling gently at the mouthful of fur and flesh he has hold of her by, doing his best to get her to stand, but she stays where she is, until he slowly lowers himself down over her, whining gently as he moves his hips against her tail in a gesture any female of any species would understand, but suddenly she's scared, while yes she wants to be with Eliot, she has no idea what to expect when in this form, and they're outside on the night they're most likely to get caught by other members of the pack and she just doesn't want this anymore!

In her fear she's sent Eliot jumbled images from when she was being held captive, of the sexual abuse she suffered, and he instantly lets go of her and moves around from over her to in front of her, whining, his belly flat to the floor, so he seems less threatening as he licks at her muzzle and rubs his face on hers, trying to show his love and comfort her, actions she copies, trying to let him know that he didn't do anything wrong, after a few minutes Eliot sends an image of the house followed by an image of the fire burning warm and bright, after which he slowly stands, she looks up at him and slowly tilts her head as far to the right as she can, showing her submission to her Alpha and that she wants his forgiveness for saying no to him by exposing her throat to him, putting her at his mercy.

He leans down and puts his mouth to her neck quickly before pulling back and nudging under her chin with his nose in a 'get up' gesture, she quickly scrambles to her feet, yelping when she puts too much weight on her left forepaw, once she's up Eliot walks alongside her, using his body leaning against her side to manoeuvre her in the direction he wants.

Just a couple of minutes later they come up to the back doors of the house where Diwali and Sarah are waiting for them with a blanket each, they let them into the house and they both Change back into their human forms, being wrapped in blankets as soon as they finish and then moving to the couches in front of the fireplace and curling up together in the oversized snuggle armchair while Sarah sits cuddled up to Diwali looking sleepy.

"I think it's time for this one to have a shower and get to bed before she falls asleep" Diwali says after a few minutes of watching Sarah fight against going to sleep, he's also noticed how upset both of the adult weres look but they seem to be comforting each other enough without him interrupting and drawing attention to it.

"Oh! I'm sorry little bug, I hadn't realised how tired you are, lets go shower ok?" Jayda says to her daughter, trying to lean forward and push herself out of Eliot's arms and towards the edge of the chair, but using her left hand to lean on, making her scream when she puts too much weight on the still damaged wrist.

"AAAHHHHH!!! Oh fu... dammit that hurts!" She exclaims, Eliot plastered along her side instantly.

"What happened? Is it still that damaged?" He asks, already knowing the answers to his questions but not being able to stop himself from asking.

"Yes it's that bad still, I think I'm gonna need a new cast on it tomorrow, it might have been alright if I hadn't gone runnin' on it" she answers with a slight grimace.

"There's no point gettin' another cast until three days time, the full moon and the need to run last three days, you can manage on two if you've had practice and you spend the two full days and nights as a wolf, but you've got barely any chance of managin' that because you're newly Changed, so you've gotta wait until full moon is over before you can get a new cast that'll last more than twenty four hours, sorry, maybe a splint and bandage with a sling might be better until then?" Eliot explains gently, Diwali nodding along with him.

"Oh! I should have thought of that, sorry, well never mind that for now, lets just get bug washed and in bed, ok?" She replies, Eliot helping her to get up and then standing himself.

"I'm going to go home, I know we need to talk but I think Jayda could do with some time to take all this in first, so I'll come back tomorrow lunchtime and we'll talk about it all then, just so you know, Quinn needed to take your truck again because there was some sort of emergency at the farm but he said he'll bring it back tomorrow, the pup, as you can see, is back, Abigail and I have called him 'Wahya' and he seems to like it, I've turned down both burners on the stove but they're not off so make sure they are before you go to bed, alright? I'll see you both tomorrow, goodnight granddaughter, I love you" Diwali tells them leaning down at the end to speak to Sarah, Jayda bursting out laughing at the name the pup has been given, Eliot looking at her confusedly.

Once Diwali has left Eliot picks Sarah up to carry her upstairs and Jayda follows them up and into the bedroom where Sarah cuddles into Eliot where he's sat on the edge of the bed.

"Jay? Why did you laugh when Diwali told us the pups name?" Eliot asks feeling like he's missing something.

Jayda opens her mouth to reply but before she can Sarah says "wahya means wolf in Cherokee, why don't you know that daddy?"

"Well bug do you remember what I told you about my daddy, the kind of person he was?" Eliot asks getting a nod from Sarah before she says "he was a bad man, he murdered your mommy and made you watch" making him close his eyes in pain at it being said so plainly and Jayda staring at them both in shock that he'd told Sarah that.

"That's right bug, well he wouldn't let me do a lot of the things our tribe do as a part of our lives including learning Cherokee, so I don't know it to speak or read it, but if you know maybe you could teach me, because i'd really like to be able to read what is written down your mommy's spine..." he explains, making Jayda blush brightly and Sarah feel special that he wants her to teach him not Diwali or Jayda.

"Ok, I'll teach you" she whispers to him before hugging him around the neck and adding "sorry that what I said upset you" shocking him that she'd noticed.

"That's ok bug you didn't know" he whispers back and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

"You up to goin' in the shower alone sweetheart?" Jayda asks, hoping she's not going to get a fight about this tonight.

"I want daddy to shower with me...." Sarah whines out, wrapping her arms around his neck again.

"But sweetie I need daddy to wash with me because I need help still, can you please shower on your own? Like you did for Quinn?" Jayda begs, feeling a little dizzy and nauseous and really not up to this argument.

Eliot sees her close her eyes like she's in pain while she waits for Sarah's answer and he just looks at Sarah with an eyebrow raised and mouths "for me, please?" Knowing that any whisper would be heard by Jayda right now, Sarah bites her lip for a moment and then nods slowly before saying "ok, but only if daddy stays with me on the outside of the glass" filling Jayda with relief.

"Where do you want to sleep tonight bug?" Eliot asks so that he knows where to take her after her shower.

"Can I sleep with both of you? Please?" She answers with a sleepy whine to her voice.

"Course you can bug, no problem, Jay will you make sure Sarah has some pajamas ready for when she comes out?" Eliot asks gently.

"I will, I'll remake the bed too, Quinn must have done this and it's not quite right, is there anythin' else either of you need?" She asks him in return.

"Not before our bath no, but... what were you cookin'? You were meant to be restin'!" He replies cuddling a blanket clad Sarah to him tighter as she goes a little limper.

"I was makin' rabbit stew for when you all came back, I figured with the snow and everythin' you'd all feel better with somethin' warm in you when you got home, the other pot is my own recipe soup which was for you two when you came back from your run tonight, again because cold snow, so warm food, it's not like makin' either is really strenuous" she tells him shrugging.

"And you did all the laundry too, when you knew how I felt about you walkin' up and down the stairs, it's no wonder you collapsed!" He adds starting to get angry about the things she'd done.

"Can we talk about this after Sarah's in bed please? And I did do plenty of restin', I promise" she tells him quietly before adding "you better hurry up and get her in the shower or you'll have to take her in and wash her while she's asleep"

Looking down at Sarah he sees Jayda's point, Sarah has her thumb firmly in her mouth and the other arm around his neck, her head snuggled against his chest and her eyes barely open, most likely only a minute or two away from being asleep.

"C'mon bug, lets get this done and you into bed, and you missus lay there and relax once you've got her pajamas ready, OK?" Eliot says to his girls in turn.

"Yes **_sir_**..."Jayda replies, licking her lips quickly and then biting the bottom one provocatively, making his length start to harden just when he doesn't want it to, so he growls in reply and heads into the bathroom with Sarah, closing the door behind him firmly to the sound of her chuckles.


	29. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quinn saves Ruby and finds out that she is scared of him in one way, Eliot is forced to deal with a sleepy, stubborn Sarah about showering again, he confesses all to Jayda and they try a new way of making love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!!!
> 
> HUMAN/WOLF SEX
> 
> This warning depends on your personal view, I myself see no issue as consent is fully obtained in advance and they are the same species just with one in a different form, and they are still, even with the form difference, two consenting adults, HOWEVER I KNOW THIS WILL BE A SQUICK FACTOR FOR SOME PEOPLE, so please be warned this is in there and I hope it doesn't put anyone off too much 
> 
> ***THIS IS THE END OF THIS PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT***
> 
> So I finished chapter thirty three but I'm having issues with chapter thirty four, like there is sand in the gears it's grinding so bad, so don't be alarmed if it's a little while longer than usual before the next chapter comes out.
> 
> Don't forget kudos and comments feed the muses speed-laced cookies which make them (and me) work faster! (God please feed them they keep rattling their cages at night stopping me from sleeping because they're so hungry)
> 
> Well I hope y'all enjoy this one darlin's!

QUINN/RUBY

As Quinn swerves into the entrance to the horse farm he can see a knot of people stood outside the house arguing, he reckons there are about fifteen people there from what he can see and he can hear voices shouting even with all the windows closed.

He screeches to a halt beside the house and jumps down from the truck, walking quickly towards the group of men who it turns out have Ruby surrounded.

As he gets close he can hear what some of the men are saying, accusing her of cheating on jared, being disrespectful of him, stealing the farm from him and having him killed, most likely by the 'scum she was screwing now', hearing these accusations makes him livid, how dare they say such things after what he'd put Ruby and the girls through!

As he gets closer one of the men starts shoving Ruby, and when she doesn't back down he swings at her, connecting with her cheekbone and snapping her head sideways before pulling his hand back to do it again saying "you never did know your place!" Just as his hand starts to come forward Quinn steps up behind him and punches him in the nerve cluster under his armpit making him scream and grab the arm to him before Quinn spins him round and kicks him in the stomach, then brings his knee up into his face, breaking his nose and making him drop to his knees while the rest of the group of men all back off a few steps.

"Anyone's else want to take a swing at someone here?" He asks them as he steps over to Ruby, taking her face in his hands gently and examining it under the light of the security lights on the house when no one makes a move towards him.

"What happened?" He asks her gently as he tips her head up a little more.

"One of the men who was friends with Jared came and demanded his pay and reference, which I was expecting, but then he demanded a bonus for being 'forced out' by 'unreasonable treatment' by the 'new' management, when I refused that he started riling up some of the other men saying things like... like..."Ruby replies stammering to a halt.

"Yeah I heard what they were saying" he tells her so that she doesn't feel the need to keep trying to explain, but when he tells her this he feels her go rigid like all her muscles have tensed up ready to 'fight or flight'.

"Ruby what's wrong?" He asks concerned, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was trying to get the drop on him.

Whispering so quietly he can barely hear her even though his lips are only inches from hers she says "please don't kill any of them, not because of me" making him pull back a further few inches so he can look into her eyes properly.

"I would kill to protect you, but not against unarmed men, I told you I don't kill anymore unless I _have_ to" he breathes back to her, just a little hurt she thought that of him.

He turns to face the men and says "anyone else wanting their reference and pay? Speak now, this will _not_ be offered again if you have a problem with Ruby or me later over Jared, alright?" As he looks them over, three men indicate they would be leaving along with their friend who was just getting up off his knees, but who didn't have the sense to keep his mouth shut.

"You haven't heard the last of this you bitch whore! I'll be back, and I'll see about killing that dirty feral kid of yours too!" The worker spits out, not realising how big of a mistake he just made.

Quinn steps towards him saying "well you try and hurt that little angel and you'll have _BOTH_ her daddies after you, me and Eliot Spencer, and believe me they'll _NEVER_ find your body, and if you try to hurt Ruby again I'll do things to you that'll make you _wish_ you WERE dead" in a low growl, totally channeling his inner Eliot.

"Fuck you both, you can't be here _all_ the time, I'll get her" he promises turning to walk away and walking smack into Bruce who had arrived back while Quinn had been taking care of beating the worker.

"You know our ways, this will be brought to the Elders notice, including Ruby's father, I suggest you pick a city and move there as you won't be welcome _here_ any longer and I WILL be here _all_ the time!" Bruce says before punching the man in the face, launching him into the air and landing him flat on his back, Bruce then turns to the other workers and says "if you're staying then back to work!" Followed by a scurry of activity as nearly all the workers go back to their jobs, just leaving the three waiting for their pay and references and the bleeding man on the floor.

"Do you have these men's paperwork and pay?" Quinn asks turning to Ruby and putting his arms around her.

"Yes they're all ready on the side table inside the front door, the top three, _he's_ already had his" she says indicating the man who's out cold on the snowy ground.

"Ok lets get you inside and I'll pay these guys, alright?" He says ushering her towards the front door.

"I'll be back to pay you three in a moment, please remove your friend from this property in the meantime" he says over his shoulder to the three remaining workers as he opens the front door.

Once he's got Ruby seated in the kitchen and has gotten her an ice pack for her cheekbone he takes the three envelopes for the men outside and steps out into the cold air again.

The three men are stood clustered together, their wounded friend nowhere in sight, and Bruce stood over them like an angry father with his huge arms folded across his chest, as Quinn walks down the steps one of the men speaks to him.

"Look, none of us wanted any trouble with miss Ruby, that was all Dirk's doing, and we would _never_ hurt either of the little girls, we just wanted to say we're sorry for what he said and did and that we don't share his views, we hope miss Ruby is ok and if she wants to bring charges we'll not be giving him an alibi, he was way out of line with what he did and said" the man says looking ashamed of himself, as do his two compatriots.

"Well I don't know what Ruby wants to do about this but I appreciate the apology and offer of testimony if it's required, here are your wages and references, after what's happened I've gotta ask you not to come back here, I just can't risk Ruby and the girls safety, I'm _sure_ you understand" Quinn replies getting solemn nods from each man, once they each have their envelopes they head for their trucks and leave the farm, Quinn and Bruce watching them the whole time.

"Bruce? Can I have a moment please?" Quinn asks the huge man, leading him up onto the porch.

"What can I help you with Quinn?" The Native man asks politely, standing in an open manner with his hands in his pockets to fight the cold.

"I just wanted to give you the extra pay I promised you for staying the night and looking out for Ruby and the girls, it means a lot to me that you did that" Quinn tells him earnestly, handing over a stack of bills to the newest of his friends.

"Quinn, this is way too much, you were only supposed to pay me my normal wage for the extra hours, this must be five times that!" Bruce exclaims.

"I promised you double and a half your normal rate, I then doubled it when you stayed with Ruby and protected her when the deputy came to cause trouble after Jared's death, she told me how you looked after her when she collapsed outside, it means a lot to me that I can trust you to take care of her and the girls when I'm not here, and just because I want us to be friends doesn't mean I shouldn't show my appreciation or give you a bonus when you go above and beyond, so just take it please, have a holiday or buy Caleb a special present or do whatever makes you both happy with it, please" Quinn explains, his heartfelt words convincing the man to accept the bonus even though he feels it's unnecessary.

"You don't have to do this, because we _ARE_ friends, but if it really means that much to you then I shall accept the bonus with good grace, but you don't ever have to pay me for helping you both out ever again, because that's what friends do, help each other, ok?" Bruce insists, putting his hand on Quinn's shoulder and squeezing gently.

"Thank you Bruce, do you want to come in for some coffee?" Quinn asks but gets a shake of the head from Bruce.

"I have work I still need to do before I finish for the day, sooner I do it, sooner I get home to Caleb" Bruce explains, smiling softly at the thought of his husband, a smile Quinn instantly understands.

"I'll let you get back to it then, have a good evening" Quinn says smiling.

"You too Quinn" Bruce replies before leaving the porch and heading for one of the barns as Quinn goes inside the house.

He walks down the hallway and into the kitchen, finding Ruby right where he left her with her ice pack on her cheekbone and eye but with Jane now sat on her lap with her arms around her mothers neck, crying.

"Hey Tazzie, what's wrong?" Quinn asks crouching down next to the chair Ruby's sat on and rubbing each of their backs with his hands.

"She's just upset because she was scared, she'll be ok in a bit, how about we all go cuddle on the couch and put one of Jane's favourite movies on?" Ruby offers, smiling down at him sadly.

"I think that's a good plan, what movie do you want on Tazzie?" He asks Jane as he picks her up from on Ruby's lap so she can get up and grab her ice pack, before she goes through to the living room followed by Quinn and Jane.

"Little mermaid" Jane whispers into Quinn's neck as she snuggles into him, feeling comforted by his strong arms around her.

"Ok, the little mermaid has been requested" Quinn tells Ruby as he settles into the sofa with Jane on his lap, once Ruby's added the disk into the player she comes to sit next to him and snuggles in against him putting her head on his shoulder and her ice pack on her face as the movie starts.

ELIOT

Eliot closes the door on Jayda's laughter at his expense and brings Sarah over to the counter where he usually sits Jayda, as he tries to put her down she again fights being let go of until he says to her "bug I gotta get everythin' ready for your shower, it'll just be a few minutes, I promise"

"Will you come in with me?" She begs, whining softly.

"Bug..." he starts to reply.

" _Please_?" She interrupts him.

"Alright, but you know the rules, ok?" He gives in, too emotionally tired to fight with her.

"But I'm _tired_..." she whines " _please_ carry me..."

"Alright! But this better be quick ok?" He answers, folding completely at the whimper in her voice.

At his answer she reluctantly lets go of his neck, allowing him to get towels ready and turn the shower on before returning to her.

"C'mon then, take off your blanket" he says before holding his arms out to her.

"Ain't you gonna take your blanket off daddy?" She asks sleepily as she shrugs her blanket off her shoulders.

"Sure bug, here see?" He says regretting his wording choice immediately as he removes his blanket and puts it on the counter next to her.

"C'mere little bug" he says picking her up and turning for the shower as he arranges her so he's not touching her in any way inappropriately.

As soon as he picks her up she puts her arm around his neck and buries her face in his neck, a few moments later her free hand comes up to her face and although he can't see he's sure she's sucking her thumb again, once they're in the shower under the water she quickly goes almost totally limp, letting him know she's fallen asleep, so he quickly washes her and turns off the shower, wrapping her in a towel and coming to the bedroom door, balancing her against his chest so he has a free hand to open it.

"Jay? Little help please?" He calls out to Jayda as he grabs Sarah to steady her again.

"What's wrong?... oh!" She answers as she comes around the bed to the bathroom doorway, stopping to stare at the sight of them, wishing she had a camera to hand.

She holds out her hands to take Sarah from Eliot but he shakes his head at her saying quietly "your wrist is still broken remember? I just need you to get an extra towel to lay on the bed so we can lay her down and you can dry her"

"So _I_ can dry her? What's wrong with you doin' it?" Jayda asks him playfully.

"I've just had to carry her into the shower and wash her, I know I'm not doin' anythin' wrong, but it just feels _wrong_ to touch her body, it probably wouldn't bother me if i'd known her as a baby and changed her diapers or washed her but now she's older it just feels... _bad_ " he tells her sadly, unintentionally making her feel extremely guilty over his not knowing he was a father until now.

"Ok, I'm sorry, lets get her dry and in her pajamas" Jayda says quietly, trying to hide her guilt from him so as not to upset him further.

Once the towels are laid out on the bed and Sarah has been laid on them Jayda dries her off while Eliot holds her in the right position so she can dry everywhere, once she's fully dried and her hair has been plaited they work together to get her into her pajamas and into the bed, snugging the blankets up to her chin and each of them kissing her goodnight on her forehead.

ELIOT/JAYDA

"You ready for that bath?" Eliot asks, wrapping his arms around her neck and leaning down to kiss her slowly and gently, remembering how she'd freaked out outside when they were both in wolf form.

"You goin' to come with me?" She asks breathlessly when the kiss breaks, rubbing up against his hardening member as she speaks.

"So long as you want me to" he answers, running his hand into the back of her hair and tipping her head so that he can kiss her even more deeply, while his other hand explores her naked body under her blanket.

"Of course I want you to! Why would I not? I love bein' close to you when we're both bare" she replies, wrapping her arms (and her blanket) around him tightly.

As she wraps her arms around his shoulders his hands both come to rest on her ass, squeezing and fondling while he kisses her before bending his knees and catching her by the tops of the thighs and lifting her, prompting her to wrap her legs around his waist to make sure he doesn't drop her.

"Eliot!" She hisses out quietly "what are you _doin_ '?"

"I'm gettin' you in the right place to do... this..." he answers on a gasp as he pushes at her entrance with his hard straining erection, sliding into her with his second push forwards, making them both breathe in harshly at the feeling of rightness being together brings forth.

"El... not here... _Sarah_..." Jayda gasps out, panting already even before Eliot starts moving inside of her.

"Right... you're right... sorry" he breathes out pulling back out of her, feeling ashamed of himself that he let himself get so carried away with Sarah right there.

He carries her through to the bathroom and gently kicks the door closed behind them, coming to set her down on the counter as usual before letting go of her and stepping back from her, his cheeks flaming in shame at the telling off he's expecting.

"What's wrong?" She asks, not knowing why he's moved away from her or is so flushed.

"Don't you wanna have a go at me?" He answers her, looking down at his feet.

" _What_? Why would I want to do that?" She asks, truly bewildered by his question.

"For what I did, for startin' while in the same room as Sarah, i'd figured that your blanket was coverin' us both, and she was out for the count, so it would probably be ok, I was goin' to bring you in here, not stay where we were, but I still shouldn't have risked it, I should have waited until we were in here, I'm _really_ sorry" he tells her, spilling his guilty feelings for her to judge.

"El, it's ok, like you said a bomb wouldn't wake her right now, and we _were_ covered, it was just a bit of a surprise after how careful you were last night about her not hearin' or seeing us is all, but I'm not mad, I'm flattered you couldn't wait to get in here before being with me, it's a compliment" she explains to him, catching his hands and pulling him back towards her, until she can wrap her arms around him and kiss his neck gently.

"You're sure?" He asks, still looking guilty and nervous.

"I'm sure, I love you El, more than anything and you did nothing wrong" she replies, reaching up and kissing him softly and slowly, pouring all of her love into the kiss as he pulls her to him and she snakes her arms around his neck more tightly.

"Bath?" He asks when their kiss finally breaks, his forehead resting against hers, before he tries to recapture her lips into a deeper kiss.

She evades his lips for a moment trying to answer but before she can get any words out he wins and pulls her lips into the deeper, more heated kiss he wants, her hands sliding up into his hair as he pulls her body tighter to his, slowly rubbing himself up against the crease of her thigh, letting her feel how excited for her he is.

When they finally break apart again she whispers "yes..." out on a breath, making him give her a lopsided smile.

"Yes to the bath or yes to me havin' you here and now?" He asks cheekily, knowing she means the bath but just completely unable to resist winding her up a little.

"The bath dumbass!" She replies, giving him a taste of his own medicine with her sarcasm.

"Ok two seconds!" He tells her, spinning away from her and towards the huge stone tub, closing the drain and starting the taps before pouring in some of the vanilla scented body wash, and then returning to her still outstretched arms, kissing her demandingly and moving back between her thighs until she's pressed up against him as hard as possible, her hands sliding back into his hair and gripping tightly, trying to take control of the kiss.

After a couple of minutes of kissing like this and having Eliot grind his throbbing cock against her Jayda lifts one leg higher against his side, more up to waist height, and shuffles her ass a little making him slip from rubbing against the crease of her thigh to sliding between her lips, her wetness coating the underside of his blood heated cock as he slides from her entrance all the way to her clit, making her gasp when he hits it, and it's piercing, with the head of his dick, hard.

In response she nips his lip, making him pull his face back a couple of inches to look her in the eye.

"You ok?" He gasps out as he grinds firmly over her clit with his length, reaching forward again to peck her lips before she answers.

"Yeah! Just a bit sensitive is all, it feels so good!" She cries out as he hits her clit dead on again with another thrust, making the end a high squeak, which makes him grin at her proudly.

"Darlin' you gotta be quiet, Sarah's just outside the room remember?" He reminds her gently before leaning over and taking one of her nipples into his mouth and sucking eagerly at it.

"Oh! Yes! Right there, please!" She cries out in a whisper, trying to be quiet but unable to be _silent_ when she feels so good.

Immediately at her cry he lets go of the nipple and starts kissing and nipping his way up her chest until he reaches her neck, where he scrapes his teeth over the bond scar making her arch back and thrust her chest hard against his.

At this moment he enters her again, sliding all the way in firmly, pausing for a moment at the height of his thrust, still feeling in that moment that he might cum if he moves too quickly, because she feels that _perfect_ to him, so tight and hot and wet, nothing's ever felt better to him, then starting slow sliding thrusts up into her, the way she likes him to at the beginning, while she tightens her leg around his waist, encouraging him.

"Yes, El, oh gods yes!" She hisses into his ear, before moving down to his Bond scar and licking along the edge of it to see his reaction.

"OH! God Jay what did you do?" He begs to know after letting out a louder than wanted yelp.

"I just licked your Bond scar, does it feel good?" She asks in an unintentionally sultry voice, turning him on even more.

"Feels so intense, like when you bit me, it's amazin'!" He gasps in answer, his thighs quivering between hers.

"Are you ok? You're shakin'" she asks as she tightens her arms around him.

"I'm perfect, I'm shakin' because of how intense everythin' feels, how perfect _you_ feel" he answers, leaning in to kiss her tenderly while he gently slides back and forth into her, not putting any force behind his movements, just relaxing into their intimacy.

After a while of this slow, gliding, movement and kisses he breaks from the kiss, explaining "I gotta shut off the taps darlin', you ready for the bath?" On panted breaths, as he uses his thumb to stroke her cheekbone.

"Turn off the taps but I'm not quite ready for the bath yet... I wanna cum first" she gasps out in answer, getting a smile in return from Eliot.

"Whatever you want darlin'" he promises, before sliding out of her and going to turn off the taps quickly then returning to her, wasting no time in diving into their kiss again.

As his chest comes to rest against her and his outer thighs just brush her inner thighs she breaks away from the kiss saying "wait! I... I changed my mind, lets just get into the bath, ok?" And looking down at his chest shyly, her hair falling forward around her face, hiding her eyes from him.

"What's wrong Jay? Is this about earlier when we were runnin'? When you changed your mind then too?" He asks concerned that she regrets being so intimate so soon after her ordeal.

"Can we talk about it in the bath? Please?" She asks quietly, worrying him even more.

"Of course, like I said, whatever you want darlin'" he replies lifting her down from the counter as he steps back away from her.

Once she's on her feet he quickly turns away from her and goes to retrieve some towels for when they get out of the bath, when he turns back to the counter with the towels in his arms he finds Jayda still stood in the same place, hugging herself and biting her lip, looking sad and rejected.

"Hey..." her says coming over to her as soon as he's put the towels down and wraps her in a strong hug "what's wrong?" He asks gently, rocking her slightly in his arms.

"I just thought you might be mad at me for changin' my mind, _then_ and _now_..." she whispers to him as if she's ashamed of the thought.

"Darlin' i'd _never_ be mad at you for sayin' no! But I _would_ be if you didn't and you wanted me t' stop! What made you think that, huh?" He tells her.

"I just... I don't want to tease you or anythin', this is the only relationship I've ever had, I don't know what's _right_!" She tells him sounding completely different from her usual, confident self.

"Jay, the right thing to do is to _always_ tell me how you feel and _never,_ _ever_ worry about tellin' me if you do, or don't, want somethin', there's nothin' wrong with changin' your mind, especially after what you've just been through, it's ok if you wanna stop bein' intimate altogether for a while until you feel more safe and settled" he consoles her, kissing her on the end of the nose.

"No! I already feel safe! I told you that, I told you that bein' in your arms is the safest place in the world for me, and that hasn't changed, it never will, it has nothin' to do with that, I think I'm just still freakin' out about the wolf thing and what happened outside" she tells him before giving a full body shiver.

"You're cold, lets continue this conversation in the bath, ok?" He suggests, slowly loosening his hold on her until just his hands are touching her, then running one down her right arm until he can hold her hand to help her into the tub full of hot water.

"It's to my idea of hot not yours, sorry." He tells her as she sits and he climbs in after her, sliding down into the water until he's kneeling in front of her feet.

"El, what are you doin' over there? Please come here" Jayda asks quietly, worried that this conversation has come between them or that he's unsure she wants him near.

"Well I was goin' to massage your feet but thinkin' about how newly healed the breaks are that might well be a bad plan, so where do you want me?" He explains, smiling softly and lovingly at her.

"Come up here, hold me while we talk" she asks holding out her hand to him, which he takes without hesitation, before moving up beside and then behind her, wrapping around her octopus-style so she feels loved and wanted, she immediately lays her hands over his and squeezes, letting him know she likes it.

"So, why did you freak out about bein' together as wolves? You had asked for it not fifteen minutes earlier, was I wrong to change my mind and try to do what you asked me to?" He asks her, wanting to know if this was all his fault.

"No! You weren't wrong to try to do as I asked! It was just... I realised i didn't know what to expect from being together as wolves, would it hurt? Would we be tied together? And what about if some members of the pack found us? I'd be so embarrassed if I was caught havin' sex outside by my father's friends, so full moon is not the time to try it out for the first time!" She explains feeling guilty because all her reasons sound so _pathetic_ now.

"So you were just scared of the unknown? And maybe bein' caught and not bein' able to look the Elders in the eye ever again?" He asks with a small smirk, which luckily for him she can't see.

"Yes, I know it sounds _pathetic_ but it scared me, I'm sorry" she says tipping her head forward in shame.

"Hey, it's not pathetic, like I said freakin' out about any intimacy is totally acceptable after what you've been through, even if you do trust me and feel safe with me, fear isn't logical and you had a terrible experience, one I can attest to after what you showed me tonight, I'm just sorry I scared you" he tells her tightening his hug to comfort her.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to show you what happened, or make you feel it, it was an awful thing for me to do to you, I'm sorry, and you've got nothin' to be sorry for, I promise" she replies.

"Well I've got an idea, how about when we're alone next we have a try as wolves indoors, because I've got no idea what to expect either, my wolf is a virgin too" he suggests with levity in his voice, making her laugh and answer "it's a deal!"

At that Eliot reaches up and turns her head towards him, turning her body in the space between his thighs until he can kiss her, slowly and gently, with no pressure or expectations behind it, just loving kisses, her hand comes to rest in the centre of his chest, stroking the hair there as he tightens his hold on her again, holding her firmly but gently, after a while of this and their kisses slowly becoming more heated Jayda tries to move so that she can move to having her legs wrapped around him, but he stops her and moves her beck from him just a little.

"What's wrong?" She asks wondering if this is turnabout for her stopping him.

"There's somethin' I gotta tell you" he answers, looking sick with guilt.

"What is it? It can't be that bad..." she says, wondering what it could be.

"You remember me tellin' you were's don't cheat, ever? And that there was no woman I want to be with apart from you? Well that's still true, there is not a single woman on the planet other than you that has the slightest interest to me, but it turns out there is a man" Eliot confesses, Jayda nodding at each question and getting an idea of what was coming from his wording, but she's still shell shocked by what he says.

"Who is it?" She asks simply, again already having an idea but needing to know so she can decide what to do "and do you want to leave me for him?"

" _No_! I don't want to leave you for him, he's in love with someone else too and we've talked and decided we're gonna ignore it and never talk about it again, neither of us want to leave or lose the women we're with, he's not even goin' to tell his... girlfriend in case it causes her not to trust him when he'd never cheat on her, he loves her too much to do that" he replies, purposefully not mentioning a name.

"Do you really think you and Quinn can ignore this successfully?" She asks.

"Yeah, we both know where we stand, whatever we feel fo.... I didn't say it was Quinn..." he starts out replying to her before realising his mistake.

"It's not hard to figure out, somethin' happened while you were out shoppin' today? Tell me what happened" she asks quietly.

"You're sure you wanna hear this?" He asks getting a nod in return.

"When we left Quinn asked about what I knew about lookin' after kids because if somethin' went wrong you'd feed us each other's balls and not in the fun way, I asked 'there's a fun way?' And he tells me 'yeah but it's an impossibility for both of us now' then gets in the truck, I figured he'd finally got the guts up to tell me he fancied me now he was in a _safe_ relationship and decided to have a think about it later, maybe while out runnin', since I didn't know then you'd be joinin' us, so we got to the mall and ended up crushed up together in a crowd, Quinn behind me, and he gets hard, then someone pushes him against me and it makes him rub up against my asscrack, and it felt _good_ , so I rubbed back against him, he'd thought I was going to hit him so he was a little surprised, I got hard very quickly, not as quickly as I do for you but quick enough that I knew it wouldn't go away on its own, so I tell Quinn we've gotta find a men's room straight away, and he tells me he doesn't want to cheat on Ruby, he can't even though he's wanted me for a long time, so I tell him he's got the wrong idea and that I'm not goin' to cheat on you either, but I need to deal with 'my problem' and he asks _what_ problem? Like he has no idea, so I showed him the only way I could, I dragged his hand over the front of my jeans, he was _really_ shocked, hadn't realised that I wanted him too all this time, we went to a bathroom and took turns standin' outside with Sarah while the other dealt with his problem quickly and then went back to shoppin', once we got back and Sarah had come inside to take her coat and boots off we had a quick chat about it, after he kissed me, and I kissed him back, I told him it had to stop, I wasn't gonna cheat on you for anythin' and that I know he doesn't want to cheat on Ruby, so no more touchin' or grindin' or kissin' and no more talkin' about it, we're just friends and the only way it could ever go further would be if you and Ruby were killed, which we're never gonna let happen and that's the end of it, when we found you I took you into the shower on maximum cold to try to get your fever down, because I had hold of you Quinn had to empty my pockets but it was innocent, after we'd been in the shower a while my hands and arms went numb and I was scared I was going to drop you, i'd stripped you down to your shorts by then, I asked Quinn to help me hold you up, because he was stood behind you the only place he could hold you was your breasts but I promise it was innocent, he was so worried for you, but when your dad arrived he found you, me and Quinn all in the shower in nothin' but our shorts each, and he wasn't happy about it even though it was just to try to help you, but I think he understood when Quinn told him what was happenin' and why, and that's everythin' there is to tell, I'm sorry I cheated on you by kissin' him and getting excited by him, _please_ forgive me?" He runs out in one long speech trying to get it all out without her interrupting, because if she did he might not have the guts to finish telling her.

"Who kissed who?" She asks quietly, her head tipped down towards her lap like it has been during the telling of the entire story.

"He kissed me then started to apologise sayin' 'I know it's unwanted...' I couldn't let him think that so then I kissed him before pullin' back and tellin' him 'not unwanted just badly timed' that was the only time we've ever kissed" he answers, his shoulders slumping as he expects the worst reaction possible.

"You're sure you can both stick to this agreement? Really, really sure?" She asks turning her head to peer at his eyes through the fall of her hair.

"I'm absolutely sure" he replies, looking her in the eyes as best he can with her hair in the way.

After a while of silence, with Eliot rubbing slowly up and down Jayda's spine with the palm of his hand, Jayda turns her head fully towards him flicking her hair out from between them and stares into his eyes.

"I believe you and I trust you, but since there is someone you want other than me I think it's a sign of somethin', maybe it's because you're bisexual and both sides of your sexuality want a Mate, I don't know, but I'm happy to talk it through with you whenever you want, just not right now, I'm tired, ok?" She says with a small, sweet smile before adding "and thank you, for bein' honest with me, it can't have been easy"

"Jay, darlin', I couldn't be anythin' else, I promised you i'd never lie to you an' omission is just another way of lyin', I love you too much to do that to you" he says in return, slowly pulling her into him for a kiss, counting his blessings that he's still allowed to.

"Are we ok?" He asks tentatively, hoping he hasn't fucked everything up.

"Of course we are, gettin' excited by someone else isn't cheatin' and kissin' someone once and comin' clean about it straight away? That's not really cheatin' either or at least not the first time it ain't, so don't worry, we're fine" she tells him, bringing her hand up and resting it on the side of his face affectionately before leaning in to kiss him slowly but passionately.

"I don't deserve you, you've been faithful to me your whole life and I couldn't even last a week..." he starts before she cuts him off.

"That's not true anymore and you know it, and I just told you that I _don't_ consider you to have cheated so no more of that, ok?" She says a little more harshly than she intends.

"No, you have been faithful, you've never willin'ly been with or wanted to be with another man, what was _forced_ on you don't take away from your fidelity, and that's final, ok?" He answers her, being very specific about what he thinks of her virtue.

"Ok..." she says on a whisper before wrapping her arms around his neck and turning so that she's as close to facing him as she can get without straddling him, before hiding her face in his neck too, a few moments later he feels her chest hitch against his as she takes in a gasp of air, and he knows, this is the first crack in the dam that is holding all her hurt from what happened back from her conscious mind, and he holds her tightly as she cries silently against his neck.

After about a quarter hour of holding her, stroking her and whispering comforting words to her as she cries, she lifts her face from his neck "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let that happen..." she says, leaning in to kiss him briefly on the lips, a silent thank you but for what he's not sure.

"What do you want to do? Soak some more or get washed and get out so we can go to bed?" He asks, just wanting to do whatever makes her happy.

"Are those my only choices?" She asks him with a flirty, if slightly wet, smile.

"No we'll do whatever you want, what is it you want to do?" He asks, stroking her hip bones with his thumbs where his hands are resting now.

"I want... to do you!" She tells him with a little laugh, swinging a leg around and over his lap, so that she is kneeling facing him with his hips between her thighs.

"Are you sure about this?" He asks, his thumbs rubbing further up her sides on each slide.

"I'm sure, I _need_ to be with you, as close as we can be, if that's alright with you?" She replies, her hands moving into the back of his untied hair as she leans in to kiss him slowly and passionately.

"That's fine by me darlin', so long as it's what YOU _really_ want" he reassures her when their kiss breaks, motivating her to kiss him again but less slowly this time, feeling his length start to harden under her ass as the kiss continues.

As they continue to kiss Eliot brings his hands up to her breasts, holding one in each hand rubbing over her nipples with his thumbs, looking to see which one gets hard first, and he's not really surprised to find it's the pierced one, so he holds the breast higher so that he can break their kiss and suck the nipple into his mouth and worry it with his teeth, gently gnawing at it before going back to sucking it hard, while she tips her head back, relaxing against his hold, allowing him to do whatever he wants.

Once Eliot feels that he's fully hard he starts to grind and thrust up against her, her position meaning her lips are pulled open and he's rubbing directly over her clit and opening making her moan in enjoyment before she starts wriggling and trying to position them so that he slides into her when he thrusts.

"No, darlin', that ain't gonna work, water is a terrible lube, trust me on this, how about... stand up, I've got an idea" Eliot tells her, making her pout because she really liked the idea of in the water, but more than happy to try another idea since he seems to have something in mind, she'll convince him about in the bath at a later date.

So she scoots back from his lap and stands in the bath, the water coming most of the way up her thighs but just missing her pussy by a couple of inches, he watches and then moves closer to her saying "don't move" before leaning his head forward and licking at the beginning of her slit, his tongue separating her lips and just slightly stroking over her already excited clit.

"El... not yet... just a couple more days.... then you can..." she begs, still not feeling comfortable with the idea of Eliot pleasuring her in this way so soon after the miscarriage.

He pulls back a little and kisses her mound before speaking "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you or anythin', you just looked so temptin' all wet and only just above the water, I should have known better, sorry" he says as he strokes her thighs and hips above the water before letting go to stand up.

"It's ok" she answers with a small, slightly sad, smile before asking "should I get out of the bath?"

"Nope, come stand here" Eliot answers moving her to stand facing the side of the tub "you ready?" He asks, waiting until she nods before sliding two fingers into her from behind while kissing the back of her Bonding bite, his free arm sliding around her waist to hold her still as her knees shake in pleasure.

He uses his fingers to slowly thrust into her, rubbing her inner walls and making sure she's both open and wet enough for him, he's so desperate for nothing to go wrong this time, he wants her to enjoy it, and know that he enjoys giving her pleasure, that he wants to do so for the rest of his life, no matter what or who tries to come between them, that she'll always be his soulmate and the one he loves with his whole heart.

As he pulls her back until she's tight against his front she lifts her leg and puts her foot on the side of the bath, opening herself to him and allowing him access to whatever part of her he wants, making him moan to show his excitement at her trust and arousal, before nipping at her Bond bite, feeling it himself at his own bite as he does, before rubbing his overexcited, burning cock up against her hip and the side of her asscheek.

"Ah! El! Want you!" She calls out at feeling this, enjoying his fingers but needing to be filled in a more satisfying, tighter way, encouraging him to slide his fingers out of her and move squarely behind her where he says "put your foot down, you're gonna need both feet to stay steady" before pulling one side of her lips and ass away from the other with his wet hand and slowly sliding into her, inch by slow, satisfying inch until she's fully filled.

They both groan as he bottoms out, grinding against her and taking hold of both of her breasts again as she leans forwards slightly, making sure he's fully seated before sliding along his full length and then back onto him _hard_ making sure they both feel how deep he's hitting inside of her.

"Jay, no, not like that tonight... lets go slow ok?" Eliot asks, pulling her tight to him so that she's standing up straight again, as he slowly pulls his hips back so that he slides most of the way out of her then slides back in, the head of his cock dragging over her g-spot harshly making her squeeze down on his length tightly, causing him to moan into her ear then bite her right over her Bond bite, making her call out and her knees to buckle, luckily he has a good grip on her and holds her up as he continues to slowly, torturously thrust into her while she quivers and spasms around his length, making him wonder if biting her had brought her off already.

"You ok darlin'?" He asks, wanting to make sure he hasn't overstimulated her and he starts to worry when she doesn't answer until she groans and then says "don't do that again unless you want to end up in the water, because there's no way you'll hold me up with what'll happen if you do"

"You liked it that much? You sure you don't want me to again?" He asks before nibbling just on the edge of the raised scar, again making her squeeze down on him, causing him to groan again in pleasure, before moving his grip down to her hip on one side, gripping her tightly with both hands, having no doubt that he's leaving a handprint bruise on her hip and a matching one on the opposite breast, but knowing she's liking it thanks to both her reactions and the Bond.

"Gods, yes! I liked it that much, you couldn't tell? It's the quickest I've ever orgasmed in my life!" She confesses, reaching back and grabbing his ass, pulling him into her with every slow, stimulating thrust, silently begging for more as she adds "but if you try it again we'll both end up hurt, no matter _how_ good it feels" with a smirk to her voice.

"Mmmm...Ah!" He calls out, trying to keep as quiet as he can "you feel _so_ good, so tight and hot and wet, just want to mark you and make you mine over and over again" he tells her, speeding up his thrusts the smallest bit and grinding against her more between his thrusts as he continues to nibble, suck and nip at her Bond scar gently, making her writhe on his hot, hard cock, whining and moaning in encouragement.

He slides into her again as she turns her head towards him, twisting her upper body and using her hand to guide his face towards her, knowing she wants a kiss he pauses his thrusts, using the chance to really grind into her as deeply as he can while kissing her, softly and passionately, before starting to thrust again and allowing the kiss to become a little harsher, sucking each other's tongue hard, nipping at lips and tongue, even biting at her bottom lip hard enough to break the skin a little, the taste of her blood breaking his self control, his thrusts speeding up until they have no choice but to break their kiss, as she turns away he bites and nips down her neck, his fingers on her hip clawing at the skin over her hipbone leaving long scratches from her mound to her waist, making her _finally_ cry out again.

"Eliot! Please! Please don't stop, need you! Please keep goin'!" She cries as his lips press against her throat so that he feels the words and the desperation behind them as she speaks, while he carries on the now pounding pace of his hips, dragging his wolf forward in his mind and the wolf making him bite her hard on the neck, just above the Bond bite, keeping hold until she begs.

"Please, _please_ let go Alpha, it hurts!" She whispers, making him realise how tight and hard his bite on her is and that he's growling uncontrollably, he immediately releases her, licking over the bleeding wounds in her neck and growling out "sorry" before she says "it's ok, I... I want you to try somethin' for me" she pants out, obviously drawing close to her climax from the way she's breathing and the redness of her neck and shoulders, not to mention how wet she is.

"What do you wanna try darlin'?" He asks his voice still more than half _growl_.

"I... I want us to get out of the bath and then... I um... want you to Change... and we'll finish like that... if you want..." she explains with much stuttering and stammering, not sure what his reaction will be.

"You're sure?" He asks, his hips gradually slowing to a stop, his length still inside of her, twitching at the thought of it.

"Yes, I don't know if it'll work right but i'd like to try it, if it's ok with you" she says as he slowly grinds into her and kisses and licks at her neck.

"If you're sure then yeah, we could try that, do you want to do that now or would you like to cum first?" He asks plastered along her back.

"Whenever you're ready is fine" she answers putting her hands over his on her body and squeezing gently.

"Ok out of the bath then" he says, reluctantly pulling out of her and letting go of her so that she can step out of the bath first, then following her out.

"Do you want a towel or blanket to keep you warm until I'm done?" He asks considerately, getting a shake of the head in return and a brief, soft, kiss before she steps back and averts her eyes giving him privacy for his Change.

Eliot thinks about both of their desperation to continue as he Changes, managing a thirty second Change, and then steps forward to nuzzle at Jayda's hand, as she looks down at him he moves his head and starts pushing his nose at her naked crotch, before licking at her, making her grab both sides of his ruff and pull him back a little, wincing as she puts too much pressure on her broken wrist before looking down into his eyes and saying "naughty boy! Step back and give me a minute to get down on the floor okay?" With a laugh in her voice, getting a chuff in answer as he steps back a few steps like she asks.

Once he's stepped back Jayda lowers herself to her knees until she's sat on her heels and then asks him ."do you want me to bend over?" Again getting a chuff in return which she takes to mean 'yes'.

As she slowly puts one of her hands on the floor he starts to circle around her towards her back, which if she's being honest with herself is making her a little nervous, even though she knows Eliot will never hurt her, she slowly leans forwards onto both hands and raises her ass up until with her arms straight her back is horizontal, at this point Eliot comes up beside her and rubs against her side, comforting her, obviously smelling her nervousness in her scent, making her take a deep breath and relax against him, this is what she wants, he won't hurt her, he loves her, she thinks to herself to help with the relaxation.

She slowly shuffles her knees apart until there is about a foot between them and then bends her arms, lowering her head and chest towards the ground, now Eliot comes up behind her and nips her asscheek with his sharp teeth playfully, getting a growl out of Jayda in return before he licks a stripe over her opening making him rumble in his chest at the taste, he then sends her an image over the Bond of a wolf being mounted by her mate, warning her he was about to climb over her.

Before she knows it she has fur against her back and the weight of Eliot-wolf resting against her as he steps forwards with his back feet, his front legs being squeezed around her chest for grip and leverage, as his fur comes to rest against her ass and thighs she feels something wet prod against her thigh and then slide across it towards her entrance before prodding at her again, this time coming into contact with her wetness, making him push forward again, until his tip enters her, he feels different in this form, the tip slimmer and more streamlined but quickly getting thicker as he pushes further into her, making her pant quickly.

He licks over her Bond bite as he pushes further in, trying to comfort her and remind her it's still him and she raises her broken hand to stroke over his muzzle letting him know she knows that and she's ok, as she feels the beginning of his knot start to enter her.

Once his knot is in her he quickly swells enough to tie them as he tries to thrust into her more to stimulate them both, then she realises that he needs her to cum to squeeze him and bring him off, and he can't bite her Bond bite in this form, so as he continues to thrust against her as much as her body allows she reaches under herself, rubbing her clit quickly and firmly knowing exactly what to do to reach her orgasm quickly, as she starts gasping, shaking and tightening down on him in earnest she grips her clit ring between her fingers and twists it then pulls it, catapulting her over the edge and making her squeeze harshly down over his knot making him _howl_ as he cums, filling her with heat as he frantically thrusts against her as fast as he can before taking the back of her neck gently into his jaws and _squeezing_ but _not_ biting her.

After a minute he releases her neck, letting her breathe again before sending her an image of her lying flat on her stomach, she assumes this is a suggestion and slowly lowers herself down to laying on the floor, Eliot laying over her but holding his own weight up so as not to crush her, licking over the back of her neck where he'd had hold of her.

"Mommy?" Sarah says as she pushes open the bathroom door, making Jayda glad the huge stone tub was between her and the door, when Sarah gets no reply she leaves the room again, luckily closing the door behind her again.

"Oh god that was close, and I can _feel_ you laughin' in your mind Spencer, it's not funny! And as nice as your fur is at keepin' me warm can you Change back please? I want kisses" she says to him over her shoulder, getting a few small thrusts into her as some sort of reply.

Since Eliot doesn't Change back straight away Jayda figures it's that he can't yet so settles down to wait, wishing she had put a towel or bath mat between her and the tiled floor because she hadn't turned on the underfloor heating and it was cold, but at least Eliot's fur kept her back nice and warm, he puts his muzzle over her shoulder, licking at her jaw in affection while she strokes his muzzle, after a few minutes she folds her arms under her head and can't help dozing off she is so tired.

She wakes up to Eliot picking her up off the floor and holding her in his arms "Eliot? Oh gods I'm sorry, I fell asleep! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine darlin', but you really need to wash now, how about we get you in the tub, then I'll go check on Sarah and if alls ok I'll come join you for a quick wash and then we'll go to bed, ok?" He tells her, smiling softly.

"Ok, can you turn off the burners on the stove while you're out there? Please?" She asks him.

"Course I will darlin' here into the bath" he says as he lowers her over the side of the bath into the still warm water.

"I'll just be two minutes ok? You relax" he says, smiling, before going out into the bedroom to check on Sarah.

When he gets out there she's not in the bed but he has a suspicion he knows where she is, so he heads down the stairs.

When he reaches the ground floor he can see her, outlined by the firelight, where she is laid with her arm around Wahya, fast asleep, he turns off the burners in the kitchen and then goes over to get Sarah.

He gently and carefully picks her up, getting a whine from Wahya that he's taking his foster littermate away, and brings her back up the stairs and tucks her into bed safely before heading back into the bathroom to rejoin Jayda in the tub.

"Hey" she greets him as he closes the door behind him and takes off the towel he'd put on to go downstairs, leaving it on the counter before climbing into the tub and replying.

"Hey, you doin' okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm better now you're back, is Sarah ok?" She asks in reply as she holds a hand out to him to pull him closer.

"Yeah she was downstairs laid in front of the fire with her arm around Wahya's neck, fast asleep, my guess is she thought we'd gone out to run again and was waitin' for us to come back, but I'm worried about how attached she is to Wahya already, by the time he's healed it's gonna break her heart to let him go, and I don't know what to do about it" he tells her, looking guilty.

"We'll deal with it when the time comes" Jayda replies, rubbing up his arm soothingly as she draws him closer to her, before putting her arms around his neck and kissing him briefly before continuing "lets get washed and get to bed, I'm exhausted...., but I love you, thank you for sharin' your gift, your Wolf with me, however it happened"

After saying this she takes the bodywash and starts to wash him, starting at his neck and shoulders and working her way down, sparing no inch of him from her ministrations, not even his highly sensitised cock.

"Ahh! Enough stop!" He begs pulling away from her hands "I'm very oversensitive right now, sorry" he explains, making sure she knows it isn't that he doesn't welcome her touch, just that it hurts right now.

"Sorry!" She says before bringing her hands to her own intimate areas, cleaning herself quickly and thoroughly before Eliot pulls her towards himself and takes over, washing her body in the same way she had washed his.

Once they're both clean Eliot holds her close to him and kisses her gently, after a short while he pulls back a little, just enough to barely part their lips and says "lets go snuggle in bed, have more kisses once we're warm and comfortable, ok?"

"Ok..." she replies dreamily as he stands up, bringing her to her feet with him and encourages her to step out of the bath, Jayda obviously half asleep or in a daze or something similar.

Once he's got them both wrapped in towels and he's opened the drain he quickly dries her off before wrapping her in a blanket to keep her warm as he dries off, then gets her to wait in the bathroom while he goes to get her some shorts and a vest to sleep in, and boxers for himself from the top drawer in 'his' chest of drawers, feeling relieved when he finds the box for Jayda's engagement ring in there as he was wondering what Quinn had done with it.

He comes back into the bathroom and finds Jayda leaned up against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes closed, giving the impression that she's fallen asleep standing up.

"Hey Jay? Here put these on" he says to her gently when she turns bleary eyes to him, once they've both got their underwear on and their towels are in the laundry they head through to the bedroom and climb into bed, Sarah's on Jayda's side, so Jayda is in the middle and Eliot in his usual place, as soon as they're both laid down Eliot and Jayda begin kissing gently and stroking each other's necks, jaws and chests, just being affectionate, but after Jayda's eyes slip closed three times in a row he chuckles softly and says "c'mon time to sleep" rolling onto his back and pulling her so that her head rests on his shoulder, almost instantly she's asleep and he smiles to himself that she can manage that, that she feels safe enough to, and then relaxes into their Bond, as family, as Pack, and allows himself to drift into sleep himself


	30. Questions of love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quinn has an important question for Ruby, Eliot discovers a strange sleeping habit of Jayda's, and Quinn fucks up, but Ruby has something to say on the matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the part with what Jayda does in her sleep... you might not believe this but I've had my last... lets say at least five lovers complain about me doing the exact same thing while I was dead to the world asleep, so just for the record it is possible not just something cute I made up *hides away blushing*
> 
> So I've been having some trouble writing because my disability causes chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and it's kicking my ass, it's taken me three days to post this because as I'm rich-texting it I keep falling asleep, and then I have to start from scratch the next time, so please, please bare with me, I'm doing the best I can and I'm hoping things improve soon.
> 
> Hope you enjoy, love y'all darlin's!

QUINN/RUBY

After two and a half Disney movies (all princess musicals) and a couple of delivered pizzas, Jane falls asleep on Quinn's lap, and Ruby isn't too far behind her snuggled into his side.

"Hey Ruby, we gotta take Jane up to bed, and I think maybe an early night for you might be a plan too, is there anything you need before bed?" Quinn asks quietly, making sure not to risk waking Jane.

"No, I'm ok, is there anything you want?" She asks in return, smiling up at him sweetly.

"Nah, I'm fine, I've got everything I need right here" he says squeezing her with a lop sided smile, getting a deep blush from her in response.

"C'mon lets get moving" he tells her, waiting until she's sat up and moved away from him before taking hold of Jane properly and standing up while Ruby turns off the t.v. And disk player, following him out of the room and turning off the lights as she passes them.

Once they're at the top of the stairs Quinn hands Jane over to Ruby and whispers to her "are you ok putting her to bed while I have a quick shower?"

"Course I am, you go have your shower and I'll see you soon" Ruby replies leaning up for a kiss before heading into Jane's bedroom.

Quinn heads into their bedroom and quickly takes off his boots, jeans and tshirt before heading through into the bathroom and stripping out of his underwear and climbing into the shower, once he has the hot water beating down on him he finally realises how cold he's felt ever since helping Eliot in the shower at their house when he starts to shiver, it quickly passes as his skin warms up under the hot spray and he starts to wash himself, as he goes through the motions of cleaning his body he thinks about what happened between him and Eliot, feeling like he wants to come clean to Ruby but knowing he never can, because after what Jared put her through the breaking of her trust would never be fixable, and he knows she'd see it as something lacking in her driving him to it, he sighs deeply thinking this, feeling all the more guilty for the kiss he and Eliot shared, but as he thinks about it he can't help remembering the feeling of Eliot's hot length under his hand as he stroked over it in the crowd and the way Eliot rubbed back against him, massaging his own hot, hard cock so sensuously and unexpectedly.

Quinn is dragged out of his memories by a tap on the shower door, making him jump as he turns to smile at a smirking Ruby, he opens the shower door and asks "what are you smirking about?" Playfully.

"You don't know?" She asks with a grin "you were stood there staring off into space jacking off, whilst it's a nice view it was _unexpected_ " she explains, making him quickly look down at his own erection as if it's betrayed him somehow, making her laugh.

"Are you going to be long?" She asks, leaning in to kiss him gently.

"No I'm finished washing, I'll be right out" he answers, having no intention to finish masturbating, especially since he hadn't known he had been until Ruby knocked on the glass.

"You don't have to hurry, you can finish off if you like, I'm a bit tired tonight, if that's ok?" She asks hesitantly, now taking her turn to look at his erection.

"No it's ok, I hadn't known I was doing it in the first place, I don't need to carry on, and of course it's ok if you're not in the mood, we'll just cuddle up and go to sleep, so long as you don't mind my hard on pressed against your ass until I calm down?" He answers, stroking her jawline with his wet fingers.

"I don't mind, I just don't want you to feel frustrated, we can have sex if that's what you want..." she asks, second guessing herself, not wanting to make him feel bad or get mad at her over it.

"It's all fine, I'm tired myself tonight, I'm just as happy cuddling up to you and just going to sleep as I am making love to you, it's whatever you want and feel like doing that's important to me" he tells her gently "give me two minutes and I'll be through to go to bed, ok?"

"Ok, if you're sure..." she answers, smiling shyly before giving him a quick kiss and leaving the room, Quinn debating whether to turn the shower to freezing to make himself go down, but deciding he's been in enough cold showers today already and that he'll just have to wait for it to happen naturally, which might take some time while he's cuddled up along her back, but he'll live with it.

He turns off the shower and steps out, towelling himself dry quickly and wonders whether to put his boxers back on or not, but decides that they've both slept naked the past few nights since they got together and he wasn't going to change that just because they're not going to have sex, this is more about trust and closeness than anything else, so he turns out the lights and steps out into the darkened bedroom, seeing that Ruby is already in the bed he quickly slides in next to her and cuddles up against her back, feeling her sigh in contentment as his arms wrap around her firmly.

"Ruby? I love you" he says burying his face into her neck and hair and then suddenly remembering her ring adds "can you sit up? Just for a minute, please?" Before jumping out of bed and going to his jeans while she moves to the side of the bed and sits rubbing one of her eyes sleepily.

"What's going on Sean?" She asks, a slight whine to her voice.

"I have something for you, and I almost forgot to give it to you" he says, coming back over to her and taking her left hand in his right.

He then slowly drops to one knee and says "I know this isn't some grand romantic gesture and there's no one here to watch and congratulate you, but I can't wait for this, so Ruby Red Cloud, I love you with all my heart, will you please do me the ultimate honour of marrying me?" As he holds out the open ring box to her nervously.

From the moment he went down on one knee Ruby has a hand covering her mouth, and when he finally finishes she doesn't say anything for a moment as she stares at him with tears in her eyes, and he thinks 'I got it wrong, she wanted the big public gesture, she's going to be so pissed off at me...', until she launches herself off the bed, into his arms and knocks them both to the plushly carpeted floor.

"YES! Yes of course I'll marry you! I love you!" She cries out, kissing him all over his face before settling on kissing his lips "I don't care that it is just us and no grand gestures were involved, that was the most _perfect_ proposal in the world" she tells him, kissing him passionately again.

When they break apart he asks "do you like the ring?" Still feeling nervous.

She sits back on her heels giving him a chance to sit up and present the ring to her again.

"It's beautiful! I've never seen one like this before, what a gorgeous design! It must have cost you a fortune!" She gushes, reaching out and touching the ring gently but not trying to remove it from the box.

"Here, let me..." Quinn says, taking it out of the box and slowly sliding it onto her ring finger, which he now notices has been broken more than once, making him grind his teeth for a moment before telling himself not to let Jared ruin this happy moment for either of them and smiling up at her as the ring comes to rest in its new home.

"It's a perfect fit! Thank you Sean, I love you so much, this is the happiest I've ever been in my life!" She tells him, tears standing in her eyes again but not falling.

"C'mon sweetheart, back into bed, I know you're tired" he tells her, helping her up to her feet and then ushering her back to the bed.

"But... don't you want to... you know... have sex to celebrate?" She asks sounding unsure.

"Do you want to?" He asks in return, having a feeling she's asking out of some feeling of obligation rather than because it's what she wants right now.

"I do... but I'm so tired, but I don't want to let you down!" She says, looking sad.

"Well i'd like to too but I'm also wiped out, so how about we celebrate in the morning, would that be ok?" He asks, getting a tired but radiant smile in return "and saying no is never letting me down, but doing it when you don't want to WOULD be letting me down ok?" He adds, smiling softly at her embarrassed reaction.

"Come here" he says kissing her slowly and softly, eventually pushing her back on the bed and laying over her until their kiss breaks, when it does he puts his fingers over her lips before she has a chance to speak then tells her "I love you so much" and kisses her again, slowly rolling them so they're on their sides still kissing but without him laying over her, after a while the kisses slow even further and he knows she's falling asleep, so he rolls on to his back, pulling her halfway over him so her head ends up resting on his chest when their kiss breaks, Ruby falling asleep without saying a word.

"Sweet dreams sweetheart" he whispers to her as he holds her close, soon sliding into sleep himself.

ELIOT/JAYDA

It's still dark when Eliot wakes up, not sure what had awoken him he lays still, holding Jayda in his arms and listens, but he can hear nothing except the sound of snow or hail hitting the windows and the trees creaking in the wind outside, after a few moments he gently shakes his head and shuffles his shoulders deeper into the pillows ready to go back to sleep, when he feels Jayda's hand that is resting on his stomach start to slide further down, quickly reaching the top line of his neatly trimmed pubic hair, making his dick spring to attention.

"Jay? You awake?" He asks in a whisper not wanting to risk waking Sarah.

When he gets no answer he stares into the darkness for a moment listening to Jayda's breathing and heartbeat, her breathing is slow, deep and regular, but her pulse is rather fast, making him wonder what the hell she could be dreaming about, that question is answered almost immediately by her hand wrapping around his already hard cock and gently stroking him as she brings her top leg up and over his thigh, rubbing herself against the hard muscle she finds there.

"Oh gods!" He whispers to himself as her grip tightens slightly meaning she's now not just sliding over his flesh but drawing his foreskin back and forth with her hand as she moves, making this feel even more _intense_.

While her hand does that she continues to grind against his thigh, whimpering as if she's not getting what she needs as she kisses the side of his chest nearest her gently and feather lightly, almost making him flinch away from her it's that ticklish.

He growls softly in surprised passion as her hand speeds up making it obvious she's not going to stop until he's cum and goes soft again in her hand, but that's the last thing he can let happen, for any number of reasons, and she's still whining and whimpering in her throat obviously not getting the satisfaction from this that he is, so he decides to wake her, if nothing else he can get her off quickly and quietly with his hand and let her go back to sleep.

"Jay! Wake up! He hisses forcefully into her ear, maybe a little louder than required, to wake her.

"What?" She asks groggily, lifting her head from his chest and looking at his flushed face.

"Err... can you stop doing that please?" He answers in a slightly strangled voice.

"Stop wh... OH! I'm sorry! I... I didn't know I.." she whispers back at him in mortification.

"It's ok, it's just if you don't stop I'm gonna make a mess of the sheets, and you didn't seem to be gettin' what you wanted from this situation, you were whinin' and whimperin' in your sleep, are you needin' to..." he explains, taking hold of her wrist gently and stopping her from moving her hand anymore.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I would... I guess it was what I was dreamin' about, you can let go of me, I'll stop" she says with a wry smile.

"What were you dreamin' about?" He asks intrigued.

"Well, erm... I was dreamin' about what you told me earlier, about watchin' you and Quinn together, how you'd look..." she admits, blushing so hard he can see her in the faint light from the hallway they'd left on for Sarah, making him smirk in return.

"Did we look good?" He asks just to see the blush deepen.

"Of course you did! You always look gorgeous!" She answers, stroking his ego.

"Well thank you, ma'am, but the important question is, do _you_ want pleasurin'?" He asks looking her in the eye.

"No El, I'm just tired, I can't believe I did that in my sleep! Do you want to cuddle up behind me to stop me from doin' it again?" She answers.

"If you're sure you don't want to get off then yeah, that might be a good idea, just because I don't want to have to wake you again" he answers, leaning over to give her a kiss before adding "but when Sarah's not here we'll have to see what comes of it, deal?" Then kissing her again a little more aggressively.

When he pulls back from their kiss she whispers "deal" and then rolls over, cuddling Sarah as he cuddles up against her back, his hard on settling into her asscrack as he pulls her back against him, while kissing the base of her neck, saying "go to sleep Jay I'll see you in the morning" then closing his own eyes, she goes back to sleep quickly but he lays awake for quite awhile thinking about what she had been dreaming about, and apparently liked.

***************************************

Jayda wakes up in the morning still snuggled around Sarah but with no Eliot behind her, she waits for a few minutes in case he's in the bathroom but after five minutes have passed she figures he must have gotten up, quite possibly making breakfast knowing him, so she slides out of the bed, tucking Sarah in warmly and goes to grab her robe out of the bathroom cabinet before heading downstairs.

When she reaches the ground floor there is no sign of Eliot but Wahya beats his tail against the floor, pleased to see her.

"Hey pup, got any idea where Eliot is?" She asks, bending down to pet and scratch him for a few minutes.

When she's finished and stood up again she decides to check the basement just in case and heads over to the staircase and carefully down to the double doors at the bottom.

Once there she opens one of the doors and immediately knows she's found him as the sounds of someone beating a punching bag come to her, she quietly slips in through the door, closing it behind her and stands leaning against the wall watching as Eliot beats the bag into submission for a few minutes, enjoying the view of his naked, sweat soaked back as the muscles flex and shift under his skin, him so intensely focused on what he's doing he doesn't even notice her, which she takes as a sign of his trust in her to keep him safe while he's down here.

After watching for a few more minutes she unites the belt of her robe and goes over to the doors and locks them, making sure they won't be disturbed, before coming over closer to him and saying "you still drop your right a little when you swing with your left"

"It's because I was shot in my right shoulder and the cold weather is makin' it ache, I don't do it all the time" he replies, stopping punching the bag and turning to face her smiling.

"Oh so it's not that you never learned any better then? Well I guess that means you are the perfect fightin' machine after all" she teases as she walks closer to him, smirking a little as she puts her hand in the centre of his chest, which no longer shows any sign of the bruise from yesterday.

"You're healed" she says, stroking downwards to his abs and then moving her hand back up and stroking again and again.

"Told you I would be, it was no big deal" he says resting his hands on her hips to hold her at arms length from him.

"Can't I give you a hug?' She asks, pouting at him when he won't let her step any closer.

"I'm sweaty and smelly, you don't wanna hug me right now..." he answers pulling a 'yuk' face.

"I don't care, I want cuddles and I love your scent, I like how you smell right now, it's.... _arousin_ '" she replies, finally getting close enough to put her arms around his neck when his arms go limp in surprise at her answer.

"Hey" she says looking up into his eyes.

"Hey" he answers as he stares back into hers, which have already turned white/blue with gold rings, a sight he finds highly arousing knowing it means she's turned on too, before leaning down and kissing her, his tongue instantly intruding into her mouth, which opens willingly before encouraging his invasion.

"Jay... I..." he starts when their kiss breaks before she cuts him off.

"El don't you dare! No questions! The only thing I wanna hear from you is encouragements and declarations of your love, please don't bring anythin' else up, ok?" She starts out demanding and ends up begging, not wanting any of what they've been through to be part of this.

"Yes ma'am, whatever you say! C'mere, let me kiss you some more" he answers, immediately understanding what she needs.

He pulls her against his sticky chest and slides one hand into the back of her loose hair, moving her head to kiss her deeper, while the other hand grabs her ass hard and pulls her against his body firmly, letting her feel his hardening cock up against her mound making her moan into their kiss.

"Too many clothes!" He growls at her when their kiss breaks, instantly pulling her open robe down her arms and letting it drop to the floor, his mouth going straight to her neck kissing and nipping his way along it and out onto her shoulder, pushing the strap of her vest out of the way as he goes while pulling the bottom of the vest up her belly until it rests just under her breasts, Jayda slipping her thumbs into the waistband of his basketball shorts as she tips her head back, moaning in pleasure at the feel of his lips and hands on her body.

"Ah ah ah!" He says, grabbing her hands and bringing them to rest on his chest "you don't get to strip me 'til I've stripped you!" Pulling the bunched up back of her vest up and over her head before pulling it down her arms and throwing it off to the side, then stroking his hands up and down her spine gently, caressing her slowly and lovingly as he kisses her deeply and passionately.

"Eliot! Oh, please!" She begs as he slips one hand between her legs, rubbing teasingly over the crotch of her panty-shorts "need more! Please!" She whines out as she rubs her hip against his burning, straining cock and presses down against his fingers desperately.

"So wet!" He growls out slipping his finger inside her panties to brush over her clit, still amazed by how wet she always gets for him, how much he turns her on, then using his free hand to bring her hard nipple to his lips to nibble on it gently.

"Only for you! Only _ever_ for you!" She gasps out to him followed by a very long moan as he rubs her clit harder "oh yes! Please, please let me feel you!" She cries out, sliding her hand down the front of his shorts to grip his cock firmly, slowly gliding her hand back and forth over his shaft.

"Oh...yesss" he growls at her, loving the feeling of her warm hand stroking him as he touches her and bites at her nipple, then adds "take these off, _NOW_!" Pulling downwards on her panties waistband, yanking them down over her ass and down her thighs before just letting them drop.

"C'mere" he growls again, grabbing the backs of her thighs and lifting her like her weight is nothing, her arms and legs wrapping around him tightly while he pushes her up against the nearby wall with his own body, letting go with one hand and using it to push the waistband of his own shorts down past his hips, leaving them to drop to the floor as he uses that hand to bring his cock up against her entrance.

"Oh! Yes, please El!" She says into his ear, her voice having quite a lot of _growl_ in it because of her arousal, at hearing her plead he knows this is what she _really_ wants, putting his mind at ease, so he slowly slides up into her, her gasp as he breaches her definitely one of ecstasy rather than fear or pain.

"Ah! Eliot! Love you! Love _this_!" She says before dragging her lengthened teeth over his shoulder and nipping at his collarbone before scratching her nails across the back of his neck and shoulders, drawing up welts that heal again within a minute, the pain encouraging him to move fast and hard inside of her, his one free hand coming up and gripping her pierced breast hard, massaging the flesh before tipping it up to his mouth so that he can nibble over the barbell through the nipple, making her gasp again.

"Oh, El! Talk to me, please..." she begs as she tightens down around him, feeling her climax rushing towards her.

"Talk to you? About what? How perfect you are? How you feel inside? So hot and tight and wet? How I fuckin' love it when I feel you tightenin' on me like this because I _know_ it means you're gettin' close to cummin'? How beautiful you are when you cum? Your head thrown back and your face all flushed? Is that what you want me to say? Or do you just want to hear me say that I love you?" He says to her, knowing that it all works to turn her on but thinking it's the last part she needs to hear.

"Tell me again?" She begs, gasping, looking him in the eye as she pants and squeezes him _just_ right.

"I love you, always" he whispers into her ear, his voice cracking at the thought that he's come so close to losing this forever in the past week.

At his words, whispered with so much emotion in them, Jayda squeezes down tightly on his thrusting cock, spilling her climax down his thighs as she bites him to stop herself screaming out loud, her orgasm is that intense.

"Oh gods, Jay, I'm gonna cum" he tells her, her spasming inner walls squeezed so tight around him, forcing him to the edge as he keeps thrusting deep, fast and hard into her, his pelvis still rubbing her clit hard as he does.

"Yes, please, Alpha, fill me, _Breed_ me, mark me as yours!" She cries out, feeling him twitch and jerk inside her as he begins to cum, this combined with the rubbing on her pierced clit is enough to send her over the edge again, making her bite him again, this time right over his Bond scar, her pulsing walls and the bite making his orgasm even more intense and prolonged.

"Aaahhh, Jay please!" He begs her, not able to take such intensity and hold them both up, and he doesn't want either of them to get hurt, luckily she realises what he is trying to say and withdraws her teeth from his Bond scar, unfortunately it's just as intense feeling her teeth slide out of his flesh as it is them going in, but he manages to hold them up, just.

After a minute or two of just leaning up against her, his forehead resting against her sweat soaked neck, he pulls his head back and looks at her, so flushed from her orgasms and with blood on her bottom lip where she's bitten it, her hair stuck to her forehead and neck where she's been sweating so much, but still the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, he leans in and kisses her tenderly, looking into her paler than usual violet eyes and telling her "I'll always love you with all my heart, I promise" making her smile softly at him.

A few moments later there is a knock on the basement doors making them both startle and Eliot almost drops Jayda.

"Shit!" He curses, tightening his grip for a moment before gently putting her down onto her feet again.

"I'll get it" he tells her as he pulls his shorts back up, just to find them covered in her cum.

"Dammit!" He growls before closing his eyes for a moment to help him calm down, when he opens them again she's already got her robe on and is at the doors, smirking at him as she unlocks them.

"Hey bug, when did you wake up?" She asks, bending down to give her a cuddle, getting a scrunched nose look when she draws back.

"What's wrong?" She asks, wondering what's up.

"You smell like sweat and daddy and that sour smell and.... _stuff_ , ALOT" she answers, looking apologetic "and grandfather is here, he asked me to come get you" she finishes, making Jayda feel somehow bad, like she was fifteen and was caught with a boy other than Eliot in her room at night or something.

"Ok babybug, can you tell him we're just gonna be a few minutes, ok?" She asks, dreading what Sarah may have already told him about what they were up to.

"Alright, I'll tell him, and daddy shouldn't swear it's bad" she adds before running back up the stairs.

"Guess she heard you" Jayda says just to rub it in and wind him up a little as she walks back over to pick up her underwear.

"C'mere you!" He growls at her, catching her up into his arms and swinging her around before kissing her deeply.

"Love you" he tells her when he pulls back from the kiss.

"Love you too, Alpha, now c'mon let me get my underwear back on" she says as she gently pulls back out of his arms and pulls her shorts on.

"What am I goin' to do about the state of these?" He asks, indicating his drenched shorts.

"When we go up you go straight upstairs, have a quick wash and get dressed, I'll tell dad that your just washin' and dressin' after workin' out before you make breakfast for us all, you know cleanliness and hygiene and all that" she tells him like it's obvious.

"Fair enough then" he answers as he holds her robe for her while she puts her vest top back on and then helps her back into it.

"You ready?" He asks, waiting for her nod before leading her over to the doors and following her up the stairs to go talk to her father and find out how everything has happened.

QUINN/RUBY

Quinn drifts slowly awake knowing it's early, but not feeling like sleeping anymore, he's curled up around Ruby's back and his hard length is slowly rubbing over her wet entrance, making him all the harder at the realisation.

"Ru? Baby? You awake?" He asks gently, only half wanting to wake her if she's asleep.

"Mmmmuuuhhh?" She groans out questioningly, being semi-woken by a mixture of the sound of his voice and the feel of him rubbing over her slowly and firmly.

At the confirmation she is awake enough to say no if this isn't what she wants he rubs over her entrance harder, wetting his shaft in her arousal while kissing the back of her neck and shoulders, slowly and sensuously, while his hands trail over her body, the one under her caressing her stomach but intentionally not heading towards her folds and the free one stroking his nails down the length of her arm and then back up along her side, making her shudder.

After a few minutes of these caresses and kisses he adjusts his hips slightly, making his blood engorged cock prod at her entrance, asking for permission, when she doesn't say stop he leans into her, slowly thrusting his length into her, finding her not just wet but relaxed, having no problem entering her until his full length is snug inside her, her inner walls rippling and caressing his shaft in enjoyment.

"Mmmmm" she moans out at the feel of his hard length inside of her, rocking her hips a little to slowly slide along his dick, making him groan into her neck and nip at the tendon there as he starts to rock in counterpoint, meaning they move away from each other at the same time, allowing more of him to slide out of her, then back in, giving longer more satisfying thrusts for them both.

As they continue their long, slow, loving thrusts at each other Quinn continues to caress her body, stroking her and playing with her breasts, but never allowing his hand to come to her crotch, wanting this to be more about being together than chasing orgasms.

After a while Ruby's hand comes up over her shoulder to rest on the back of his head as they move together, Ruby pulling his head forwards as she turns her face towards him, making it obvious she wants a kiss from him, he smiles as he tips his head towards her, kissing her as best he can with her back pulled tight up against his chest.

As their kiss ends she tips her head back to rest against his shoulder, meaning his head was now resting on top of hers, resting ear to ear except for when he dips forwards to kiss and nip at her neck and shoulders as he moves within her, making her moan gently with loving passion.

After a while his hands move to her hips, allowing him to put a little more force behind his thrusts, making her mewl out her pleasure, by some unspoken agreement neither of them speak during their love making, just making sounds of enjoyment and passion.

"Ahhh" he moans out, feeling the way she has started tightening around him, pulsing along his length, knowing it means she's getting close, and he's having to fight his own instincts, his body wanting to go faster and harder but his mind and his heart wanting to keep up the slow pace, loving her gently, rather than as she put it their first night together 'just fucking her', it helps him to know that keeping this speed will bring her to a more intense orgasm when she finally gets there, making any wait worthwhile in his eyes.

"Ooooohhhh!!!!....." she calls out as he hits her g-spot and then rubs over it firmly as he moves, the slow grinding of his cock bringing her closer to the edge as his kisses and caresses make her more sensitive to his every touch.

"Gggrrrrr..." he growls out as his balls start to draw up, remembering their conversation about 'claiming' each other and wondering how she would prefer to be marked, by his coating her ass in his seed again, or filling her with it, wishing with every second he could be giving her a child, he comes back from his wondering at a tight squeeze to his shaft, making him notice how much wetter she's getting and how tight she is now, she's almost there too!

As she starts to pant and gasp heavily he brings his hands up to hold onto her breasts so that he can hold her spine flush against his chest while she cums.

As he flicks her nipples and makes grinding thrusts into her she starts to shake, calling out "Ah! Ah! Ah!" On every thrust and her hand comes to the back of his head again, drawing his head over hers and down, encouraging him to kiss and nibble at her neck as he thrusts into her just a few times more, hard.

On the fourth thrust she starts to cry out, loudly, he can feel her tightening down around him squeezing and massaging his blood-swollen cock, setting his tight balls on fire, and when he feels the wetness of her cum flood over them he loses control and cums hard inside her, spurting over and over again, more times than he ever has before, his cock twitching and jerking over and over again for at least thirty seconds, and it's so _sensitive_ , so _intense_ , that it's painful, and to keep from screaming, without thinking, he bites her, right on the tendon on the shoulder which leads upto the side of the neck, but low enough on her shoulder it would be hidden by a normal tshirt.

Less than a minute later Quinn lets go of her shoulder, horrified that in his passion he's broken her trust so badly.

"Ru? Are you ok?" He asks as her panting lessens and she starts to breathe more easily, but doesn't turn towards him.

"Hey, c'mere, look at me" he asks, taking hold of her chin with his thumb and finger and turning her head towards him.

Once her head is turned he brushes her hair out of her face letting him see her, but she has her eyes averted, not seeming to want to look at him.

"I love you" he says not knowing how else to make this right.

"I love you too" she answers, finally raising her eyes to meet his "but that hurt, and you know I don't like it, why did you do it?" She asks cutting straight to the problem.

"I was trying to stop myself from screaming so loud i'd wake Jane, and I wasn't thinking, if I had been I never would have done it, I never want to hurt you, I'm so sorry I have, I didn't mean to let you down so badly" he confesses, stroking her neck gently but avoiding the vivid red/purple bite mark he can see against her lightly tanned skin.

"You're very lucky, you made me feel so good I didn't really feel it the way I always had before, but that doesn't make it ok, I'm not your property, I want to be claimed by you and scent marked by you, but I don't want to be visually marked by you again, please don't let me down on this again, please?" She explains, begging at the end.

"I promise, I'll try my best to never make this mistake again, I know you're not my property, you're my fiancée, and while yes some little caveman in my brain is doing a happydance at marking you, I'm not, I'm sorry, I hope I never let you down again" he swears to her, his description of the little dancing caveman making her smile and let out a slightly wet sounding giggle.

"C'mere, I'm sorry, I love you so much Ruby, and I always will, do you wanna go back to sleep?" He asks, cuddling her back into his chest, his half-hard length still inside of her.

"Planning on staying there are we?" She asks, smiling.

"Yeah unless you object?" He asks raising his head a little so she can shake hers.

"No objections!" She tells him snuggling back against him and wiggling her hips a little making him grind into her and causing her to give out a quiet little "oh!" On a gasp as he hardens a little more because of the friction.

"Enough'" he whispers into her ear adding "go back to sleep baby, we'll talk more later, I love you, now sleep"

"I love you too, sleep well" she answers sounding part asleep already as he puts his face into the hair at the back of her neck and closes his eyes, thinking of the children they'll never be able to have.


	31. Changes explained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quinn talks to Diwali about his relationship with Ruby, Eliot and Jayda find answers to some of their questions regarding the changes Jayda has gone through and Eliot finds out something he was never meant to about Jayda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in honour of Christian Kane's 45th birthday today I thought i'd give y'all this chapter.
> 
> It's only short I'm afraid but there should be another coming pretty soon, my CFS is kicking my ass at the moment and every time I go to write I get maybe five lines out and then my eyes are rolling back in my head and I'm falling asleep, to the point I slept the whole night sat up with my iPad on my lap because I fell asleep writing, so please bare with me, I am trying to get the chapters out and this story finished as quickly as possible so I can start the next one, it's just hard.
> 
> Also my husband and I finally got around to watching teen wolf the series on Netflix, I started half way through writing chapter thirty four, so please know I didn't steal the idea of a true alpha or berserkers from there (hell I took berserkers from medieval history) and I'm rather gutted to find out that they used a similar idea, so, I'm just sayin'.
> 
> As always please feed the muses their speed laced cookies in the form of comments, they really do inspire me to write more/better/faster.
> 
> In the meantime enjoy this one and let me know what you think, thanks darlin's!

ELIOT/JAYDA

Jayda leads Eliot up the stairs and then he stops her to give her a quick kiss before running up the stairs to the bedroom to get washed and dressed, while she heads into the living room to meet her father.

"Daughter! Quinn is coming to get Sarah for a few hours so the three of us can talk, so you might want to send her up with Eliot to get dressed" he tells her smiling at her and then crouching to hug his granddaughter.

"I'll take her up and get dressed myself, help yourself to tea or coffee, Eliot's goin' to make breakfast when he comes down ok?" She tells him taking Sarah's hand and leading her up the stairs.

"El? You in the bathroom?" She calls when she sees he's not in the bedroom, going over to open the door and peek in at him as Sarah picks clothes out of the clean pile on the dresser.

"Helloooo!" She says upon seeing him stood naked in front of his sink, cleaning himself with a damp washcloth, as he's already shaved off the beard that was growing in after a week of not shaving, he looks over at her and smiles a truly _sinful_ smile at her, making her both want to do things to him and have him hold her down and do things to her, but at the realisation she shudders and all the colour drains out of her face, as he sees this his smile dies and he comes over to her, taking hold of her arm to steady her.

"Don't, Sarah's in here... I'm alright... I just freaked myself out is all, I promise I'm ok" she says, warning him not to leave the bathroom naked and then reassuring him that she's not about to faint or anything, giving him a tentative smile.

"You're sure?" He asks, still worried.

"I'm sure, dad's arranged for Quinn to pick Sarah up and take her for a while so we all can talk an..." Jayda starts explaining before she's interrupted by her stomach growling so loudly Sarah hears it on the other side of the room, even without werewolf hearing, making her giggle before Jayda finishes with "and figure out what's goin' on, so we all need to be dressed"

"Ok, well I'll dress her and you get yourself ready and I'll dress once Sarah's done, alright?" He says giving her a quick hug knowing his body is hidden from Sarah by Jayda's.

"Alright, put a towel on mister!" She says hugging him and then pinching his ass, getting a betrayed look from him in return.

"What?" She asks, smiling innocently up at him before turning him around and pushing him towards the towels with a slap to the ass, making him look back over his shoulder at her with that betrayed look again, making her chuckle "put a towel on!" Before turning back to Sarah.

"You picked out your clothes?" She asks her, getting a nod in return "ok, well you start gettin' dressed and daddy will be out to help you in a minute, ok?" She tells her, bending down to kiss the top of her head before going to her own chest of drawers and pulling out clean underwear and a vest top then wandering into her closet and finding jeans and a sweater, something comfortable to be sat in while they all talk.

She emerges just as Eliot comes out of the bathroom and heads to the door herself, kissing Eliot as she passes him, figuring she'll get dressed while using the toilet to save time.

When she comes out washed and dressed in her jeans and sweater she finds Eliot alone in the bedroom, with no sign of Sarah.

"Hey, where'd she go?" She asks him as she grabs his hips from behind while he pulls his jeans up, pressing her mound against his ass the way he rubs up against hers with his cock.

" _Mmmm_... she went back down to see your dad so I could get dressed 'without goin' red'...., gods that feels good..." he tells her, rubbing back against her as if turned on by the feel of her behind him, her arms sliding around his waist now he was fully stood up, Jayda reaching up and biting the bottom of his shoulder blade to show how aroused he was making her, causing him to turn suddenly and catch her arms behind her while leaning in and kissing her mouth savagely.

"Hey, no bitin' when we have other things to be doing or I'll have to give you a taste of your own medicine!" He growls at her commandingly, making sure she understands she'll be in trouble if she disobeys.

"Mmmmuuuuu, no fair!" She whines out, looking away from his eyes, making him grip her tighter and pull her arms just a little further to make her a little uncomfortable.

"Yes Alpha!" She squeaks out meekly peeking up at him through her eyelashes "sorry Alpha!"

"Don't you forget who's Alpha here, ok? Now c'mon, lets go talk to your dad" he says, kissing her gently to show she's forgiven, this time.

As they reach the bottom of the stairs, holding hands they see Sarah and Diwali having a deep conversation in _Tsalagi_ the Cherokee language, a language only Jayda of the two of them speaks, leaving Eliot confused.

"What are they sayin'?" He whispers to her, hating not knowing his own people's heritage when he knows so much about other people's from around the world.

"She's tellin' him about runnin' last night with both of us and how she likes my wolf's coat, how she wishes hers was like mine... just normal stuff" she answers him smiling softly at seeing them together and hearing them speak this way.

"C'mon lets get this done" she says leading him into the living room area by the hand.

As they approach Sarah and Diwali stop speaking and Diwali smiles slyly up at Eliot.

"Sarah tells me you wish to know what the _Tsalagi_ script down Jayda's spine says?" He asks looking almost like he is smirking.

"Er yeah, I was wonderin' what it says, but as you know I was never taught our language so it just looks pretty to me..." he answers, blushing slightly in shame while running his hand down Jayda's spine over the tattoo in question.

"Daughter, come here and show your Mate your spine" he requests, knowing Jayda will not say no.

Jayda comes and kneels in front of her family, pulling her sweater off over her head and then dropping the back of her loose vest top to her waist, along with the back of her bra, leaving the length of her spine bare.

"Eliot, Why don't you point out each word as I tell you what it says, alright?" Diwali asks, getting a nod in return as Eliot points to the first word.

"I, Jayda Moon Wolf, swear my soul for eternity to my Alpha, Eliot Spencer" Diwali recites before adding "Moon Wolf was her birth family's name and is technically her real name, she wanted this to be ritualistic, about blood, so she felt she should use her birth name, it was done in the old way and took many hours to complete, all for love of you" the last five words making his head jerk up as he remembers those words from their conversation in the nursery, knowing that Diwali is telling him she suffered to have this done, and it was most likely soon after their night in Moscow.

At this point Eliot realises Jayda hasn't moved from her kneeling position on the floor in front of him and Diwali and her shoulders are slumped and her head is hanging forwards, just as he reaches out to touch her Diwali stops him and shakes his head before saying over his shoulder "put your coat on little one! We're going to go play in the snow!" Getting an excited whoop from Sarah that reminds Eliot greatly of Parker when she's happy, by the time Diwali is stood with his coat on Sarah is pulling open the door and shooting out into the thick layer over the clearing their house was placed in, Diwali closing the door behind him with a nod.

"Jay? What's wrong?" He asks running a finger gently down the vertical script along her spine, which makes her flinch away from him.

"Hey!" He says coming to kneel behind her and wrap her in his arms, his chin resting over her shoulder as her whole body goes stiff in his arms, as taught as a piano wire about to break, his chest suddenly feeling tight and panicked.

" _Jade_ what's wrong?" He begs, shuffling around her on his knees until he can see her face.

"Jay! Why are you cryin'? What's wrong? It's all ok, I promise!" He tells her when he sees the tears pouring silently down her face and the way she is hugging herself under the guise of holding the front of her vest up, as he holds her with one arm he pulls the straps of the vest and sports bra she is wearing up until she is properly covered, then asks again "what's wrong Jade, did I do somethin' wrong?"

"You... you were ne... never meant to know what it said, tha.. that's why I had it written in _Tsalagi_!" She tells him, still hugging herself and cringing back from his hold on her.

"Why not darlin'? Why didn't you want me to know? Are you ashamed of lovin' me?" He asks in a small quiet voice.

"NO! I ain't _EVER_ been ashamed of lovin' you and I never will be! I just... it wasn't _for_ you, to let you know you had power over me, it was for _me_ , to show my eternal devotion to you, to show that I willin'ly give power over my life and soul to you, whether you love me or not" she explains, still crying.

"Hey don't cry, what's so bad you're still cryin'! Eh? I know what it says now and I still love you and respect you, I'm honoured you feel like that about me, it's humblin' and I don't deserve it, but I can't help bein' happy that you love me that much!" He tells her, nuzzling into her neck to try to comfort her.

"But now you know you could use that power over me to make me do things I don't want to..." she says ever so quietly, cringing away from him again as she speaks.

"You think i'd do that?" He asks, the pain and dismay in his voice completely unhidden.

"No, but you can never be fully sure what someone might do given certain circumstances" she answers, her tears starting again as she adds "I've had that taught to me _very_ harshly recently"

"After everythin' you've just endured I would NEVER force you to do anythin', I might use the Alpha voice to make you behave when you're being naughty like this mornin', but I will never, EVER use that or your devotion to me to make you do somethin' against your will, I'm not a... a... .... I'm not one of _those_ men" he promises her, unable to make himself use the word _rapist_.

"I know in my heart you wouldn't, that you're not like that, it's just my paranoid mind can't help bein' scared I'm wrong, it would kill me if you did use it against me..." she says, finally breaking into sobs and collapsing in on herself, until Eliot pulls her tightly to him and leans back against the chair they're in front of, meaning she's laid between his legs and up onto his chest as she cries, gripping onto handfuls of his shirt to hold herself in place and keep him as close to her as possible, while he makes soothing, loving sounds as he strokes her back, all the time wondering if that's what she really thinks of him, before flashing back to that thing he did for Moreau, the worst thing he ever did, and wonders if she might not be right to be scared of him after all.

After about five minutes she sniffles and then says "I'm so sorry Eliot, I... I didn't mean the things I just accused you of bein' capable of, I KNOW you wouldn't do that to anyone, but especially not me, I'm just so fucked up in the head right now, it's like I'm scared of everythin' and everyone, yesterday mornin' I even thought _Quinn_ was tryin' to get at me! And I know he wouldn't, wouldn't even _want_ to, it's _you_ he wants not me! But it didn't stop me bein' scared while he carried me down the stairs! I HATE this!" She says, new tears standing in her eyes now, but this time they're tears of frustration.

"It's ok, I know that you know I wouldn't do it, as for the rest it's normal to feel like this after what you went through, I know it's drivin' you mad but you'll get over it in time, and in the meanwhile I know how well you can hide it if you want to, but none of us who love you are goin' to think bad of you for feelin' this way, I promise" he tells her before adding "I can have a word to Quinn and ask him to keep a little distance from you if you'd like, just until you get yourself sorted, do you think that might help?"

"No, it's fine, he hasn't done anythin' wrong, no reason he should feel like he has, don't say anythin' to him" she says playing with the fingers on his left hand before saying "hey! Where's your ring?"

"I dunno, I had it on yesterday when I got home and then... it must have fallen off when I Changed, it'll be in the bedroom somewhere, I'll ask Quinn if he found it while clearin' up last night" he answers, hoping Quinn did find it or he's gonna be searching that room from top to bottom.

"C'mon lets get up off the floor, Quinn will be here soon for Sarah" she tells him reaching up to kiss his nose before going to stand up, but he pulls her back to him and kisses her properly, taking her breath away with his long, slow, loving kisses.

"Eeewww, daddy! You shouldn't do that where I have to see!" Sarah says as she comes in through the door followed by a laughing and snow covered Quinn and Diwali.

"We'll do this wherever we want, you should be happy you have a mommy and daddy who love each other so much that they want to kiss a lot!" Eliot answers her while Jayda giggles against his chest before whispering in his ear "c'mon get us up"

By the time they're up Diwali has his coat off and is taking Sarah's off while Quinn looks a little unsure about whether he's staying or going.

"Quinn can I have a word?" Eliot says heading to the kitchen and beckoning Quinn to follow.

"Hey El is it ok if I just use your bathroom quickly?" Quinn asks looking a little uncomfortable.

"Sure man, you know where it is, I'll be waiting down here for you" Eliot replies pointing to the basement steps.

Meanwhile Sarah comes to Jayda and tells her what she and Diwali and Quinn had been up to outside, but stops after a couple of minutes.

"Mommy? Why have you been cryin'? Is it because of what _he_ did to you?" She asks again showing she is far more perceptive than people give her credit for.

"Were you listenin' from outside?" Jayda asks, wanting to know what fibs she can get away with.

"I know I shouldn't... but I did, I was worried about you!" She answers then tells Jayda "but I didn't understand a lot of it"

"You're right you shouldn't have listened, grandpa took you outside so you wouldn't be upset by my being upset AND to give me and daddy some privacy, which you invaded by listenin' in, so please don't do that again ok? And yes a lot of the reason I was cryin' was because of what happened to me and how it's made me feel, but I'm ok now, daddy made it better, so don't you worry ok?" she tells her, somehow feeling better after saying Eliot made it better, making her smile a little.

"Ok, mommy! Am I coming back here to run tonight?" Sarah asks, not wanting to miss out on a chance to run with both her parents, knowing they won't be around forever because Eliot lives in Portland and she's pretty sure Jayda will be going to live there with him.

"As far as I know, lets ring your other mommy and ask, ok?" Jayda says pulling her phone out of her pocket.

Meanwhile Eliot and Quinn have come to sit on the top few steps leading down to the basement after Quinn returned from the bathroom.

"Quinn, just so you know, Jayda knows about you and me, she won't tell Ruby so long as nuthin' happens, ok?" Eliot starts looking Quinn in the eye.

"You're sure?" Quinn asks, accepting it when Eliot nods in response "good, I formally proposed to Ruby last night, and well... we talked this morning and we wanna be married soon,... so... willyoubemybestman? Please?" He asks, running it all together in his nervousness.

"What?!? Hell yes man! Of course! I'm honoured!" He says grinning before swooping forwards and pecking Quinn on the lips, then they both just sit there staring at each other for a few seconds until Eliot breaks the silence.

"Sorry..." Eliot says.

"No, it's ok..." Quinn speaks over him.

They both start talking then both just stare again.

"I shouldn't have done that, but it was just a natural reaction, not meanin, anythin'" Eliot explains.

"I know, it's ok, it never happened. So you said yes, you've got your work cut out for you, we wanna get married before you guys head back to Portland" Quinn replies.

"What? But we're headin' back a few days into January!" Eliot exclaims.

"I know, regret saying yes yet?" Quinn asks with his usual smug smirk.

"Hell no! I can liberate countries, sing, cook and deal with a whinin', tired, seven year old, plannin' a weddin' in two weeks? I can do that!" He answers making Quinn smile broadly.

"Oh, I nearly forgot, did you see my ring while you sorted out the bedroom last night?" Eliot asks.

"Yeah I found it on the floor, I put it in the jewellery box where it would be safe" Quinn answers.

"Good, thanks man, one last thing, this is goin' to sound weird but did you try to come on to Jayda yesterday mornin'?" He asks.

"I may have flirted a little with her, just harmless fun, why? Did she tell you I was inappropriate?" He asks alarmed.

"No, it's just she's havin' some issues after everythin' and so even the most innocent of flirtin' can seem threatenin', can you just not flirt with her for a while, have a joke and a laugh but not anythin' that could be classed as sexual, please? And don't tell her I told you, she'd be so mad if she knew!" He explains.

"So have you asked Diwali's permission to marry Ruby?" Eliot asks just to wind Quinn up.

"Erm... no? He doesn't strike me as that kind of old fashioned, is it a Cherokee thing?" Quinn asks feeling like some redneck racist bastard for needing to ask.

"No man it's not an Indian thing, it's a respect thing, he's our Shaman, a man of high standin' in the tribe, askin' his permission might not be the way to do it but tellin' him you intend to ask Ruby to marry you shows respect for his opinion and standin', when you marry her you will be given the choice of joinin' the tribe, it's an honour only offered to the spouse of an Indian woman because our ancestors were matriarchal, the women had the highest standin', it's all part of our history, so are you gonna speak to him?" Eliot explains as much as he learned from Diwali as a teenager, against his father's demands, and gets a little off subject before catching himself.

"Yes, I guess I better do it now..." Quinn replies getting up and heading back around the kitchen wall and through to the living area where the others are sat, Eliot following and leaning against the kitchen counter to watch.

"Erm... Diwali, Sir? I... um... I just wanted to... erm..." Quinn starts, obviously nervous about what he's saying.

"Spit it out Quinn" Diwali interrupts to say.

"Yes Sir" he answers before continuing "I asked Ruby to marry me last night!"

Everyone in the room stops for a moment and stares at him then turn to Diwali.

"I somehow thought this would happen soon, are you planning to marry soon?" The Shaman asks seriously.

"Yes!... I mean.... with your permission sir" Quinn answers looking terrified while Eliot smirks behind him, something that is not lost on Diwali.

"I see, well... you can provide for her and her children? And protect them from further harm?" Diwali goes on to ask.

"Yes sir, I can provide for anything they'll ever need and I'll always protect them, when I'm away working my friends Bruce and Caleb Black Stone will stay with them to protect them, they'll always be safe" Quinn promises.

"Well with arrangements like that I suppose I won't object to this marriage, I already know you'll be the best husband she could ever wish for, _won't you_?" Diwali demands.

"Always, Sir, I love them" Quinn says simply, allowing his love for his new family to shine in his eyes as his face breaks into a soft smile.

"Good!" Diwali declares as he breaks into a huge smile and stretches out his hand for Quinn to shake.

"Congratulations Quinn!, tell Ruby she needs to get her ass over here in the next few days!" Jayda says while he shakes Diwali's hand and grins like an idiot making everyone else in the room smile too.

"I'll make sure to tell her! C'mon bug time to put your coat back on! You need to come see Flame, he's been missing you!" Quinn says to Sarah, getting her to hop up from Jayda's lap and hurry over to the coat tree to grab her coat again, as soon as Quinn has it on her and done up she gives each adult a kiss goodbye and just about drags Quinn out of the door to go see the horse she's been helping to train, Quinn having just enough time to pick up his shopping from the previous day before being dragged off.

Once the door has closed behind them Eliot and Jayda look at each other, then Eliot turns to Diwali "so, how do you think all this happened?" He asks going to the fridge to get ingredients for breakfast.

"Well it starts when you became Bonded at such a young age, you have talked about that together, yes?" Diwali asks waiting for a nod from each of them.

"Well, you Bonded as such small children, children who were already so close, and who continued to be close as you grew and developed your personality traits, although both of you probably don't realise, Jayda took on many were attributes and personality traits, to the point that I wondered if she had been sired by a man other than her father for a while, but as you both know she never underwent the Change meaning it was just mannerisms she had picked up from you Eliot" Diwali pauses as Eliot brings both of the others glasses of juice and then continues.

"You were already fully life-Bonded by the first time Eliot bit you, luckily that was before he went through puberty and acquired his Alphahood, if it had been after, you may have Changed into a half-were then, since that had been the intent of that bite, the same could have happened the next time he bit you had that not just been a heat of passion bite, if there had been the intent to Mate on both your parts that day you would have Changed and become Bonded as Mates that day" he tells them frowning at each of them in turn, getting matching looks of shame and blushes from each of them.

"As it is the next time you were together you didn't bite her" he says in Eliot's direction "but other things occurred after that meeting, as we all now know."

"But this time you came together you were both in the same frame of mind, Eliot had come into his full True Alphahood, meaning that when he bit you and you both wished for the Bond to form, not realising it already had, all it needed was the boost of that Mating bite for the Bond to be fully completed, and as the human Mate of the True Alpha you would undergo the Change into a half-were, which is so rare it hadn't happened in over a hundred years.

Then however, while you were undergoing the Change you were hurt, we knew the Changes were happening because of the form your Mated Bond took, Eliot could sense your pain and was in fact suffering the pain with you, which confirmed what I had surmised long ago, that Eliot is the True Alpha.

However when we got you back something happened that has never happened before" Diwali pauses to take a sip of his drink, as he does Eliot yelps and suddenly there's the sound of a clang and water running onto very, very hot metal.

"MOTHERFUCKER!!!" Eliot yells then goes silent, scaring Jayda.

"What? what happened?" Jayda shouts, jumping out of her seat and heading to the kitchen where Eliot is swearing more around the part of his hand he has in his mouth.

"El? What did you do?" She asks more gently, pulling his hand from his mouth and examining the big, deep burn on the side and up his pinky and ring fingers on his right hand.

"I was payin' attention to Diwali and forgot about the pan because I was payin' all my attention to what's more important to me, the pan caught fire and when I turned around I grabbed it with my left hand and tried to turn off the stove with my right, but I'm not used to the weight of your pans and it slipped, so I caught the edge of it with my hand so that I didn't burn the kitchen down, managin' to burn my hand instead, sorry" Eliot explains as she forces his hand under the quickly running cold water.

"Ggggrrrrrrr" he growls out at the pain, trying to fight her and pull his hand back but not really managing it.

"Stop it!" She says sharply like you would to a naughty child or pet "this needs to be here ok? Stop fightin' me!" At her words he stops trying to pull his hand back, he knows she's right.

"May I see?" Diwali asks from over by the breakfast bar, Eliot and Jayda both looking over to him before Jayda lets go of Eliot's hand so he can go over to him.

"Jay, your first aid kit please, the one down here should be adequate" he asks as he looks at the burn, Jayda running over and pulling it out from under the sofa where it had been shoved after treating the cuts on Eliot's right hand just a couple of nights before.

"Here!" She says going to swing the double thickness briefcase sized kit up onto the counter using both hands only to drop it partway with an "Ah!"

"Jay?" Eliot asks, more worried about her than himself.

"It's ok, I'm ok, I just forgot not to use my left hand is all, here you go!" She says swinging it up one handed and laying it on the counter before unzipping the lid so her father can get at the contents to help Eliot.

"Sorry about this..." Eliot says to them both looking ashamed of himself "I should have been more focused on what I was doin'"

"Hush! We've all made mistakes in the past, and like you said, what we were listenin' to is important" Jayda comforts him before coming to stand on his left side and putting her arms around his waist, so he wraps his left arm around her shoulders giving her a hug and a quick kiss.

"Dad, while you're workin' on El's hand do you want to continue?" Jayda asks, thinking they may as well finish this soon and it should help take Eliot's attention off what's being done to his hand to help him heal.

"Very well, as I said something happened that has never occurred before, the Mate of the True Alpha in the middle of... for want of a better term... 'turning' was given a blood transfusion of the True Alpha's blood, a large one, so while your body was already Changing its DNA, more, dominant DNA was added, and it somehow hijacked the process, I believe this occurred because it was introduced in such a large volume so close to the full moon and you have such a strong, long-term Bond, you have to understand most Bonds are formed at the time of the Mating bite or recently before, I've never heard of a Bond like yours, not of the length before 'consummation' by the bite or by strength when it comes to communicating through the Bond, not in all the histories I have access to is there mention of anything like this, so I believe it was a perfect storm scenario, all the pieces happen to be in the exact right place at the right time to let this happen, and I doubt it'll ever happen again, you'll always be the worlds only fully Changed human to full were, and what's more, I think you're also a True Alpha, you're way too large to be even a normal Alpha she-wolf, the only way you can be so big is to have become a True Alpha from Eliot, the first True Alpha Mating pair in our history, I am honoured to serve as your Shaman, and your EMT!" He says smiling at the end as he finishes the bandage on Eliot's hand.

"That might scar, I'm not sure with you, give it a few days to heal please and keep the dressings clean and the bandages on, am I understood?" Diwali orders Eliot.

"Yes sir" Eliot says, knowing Jayda will kick his ass if he doesn't.

"Is there anything else you want to ask me?" He asks the lovers as they stand holding each other tightly.

"Yes, the night I had been rescued Sarah told us some things that Jared had said and threatened to do to her, Eliot lost his temper and well..., he accidentally broke a glass and hurt his hand, but... Sarah and I were on the couch and Eliot was stood here, his growl was so loud we could hear it completely clearly and when he looked up at us from behind his hair I saw something i'd never seen before, his eyes were glowing red! He ran out of here and Changed and went running as a wolf and didn't stop until he found Wahya, when he got home he told me he ran off because he was scared he was going to hurt us, that he felt like he had no control, do you know what was happening?" Jayda explains as she ushers the two men back to the couches where Diwali sits on a sofa petting Wahya and Eliot and Jayda curl up together in the snuggle armchair.

"That is something that only happens to True Alphas, when they become very angry or very protective of their lands, people, Mates or pups, they go into a type of berserker rage, it's referred to as 'going feral', although it can feel like the Alpha has no control, if he tries to control himself he'll find he can, it just might take a little work and a tighter leash on their emotions."

"But for an Alpha facing it for the first time you did the right thing, many past True Alphas have had it added to the records that running and hunting as a wolf helped them to regain control, but I have to say that if ever you feel like you're a danger to any of my girls then leave, run, better to apologise for leaving than suffer the aftermath of an attack for the rest of your lives, but that is only my opinion, I'm sure you've already come to an agreement about this together" the Shaman advises his daughters Mate.

"So, any other things you need answers to?" He asks.

"No I don't think so" Eliot answers after looking at Jayda.

"Actually..." Jayda starts giving Eliot a guilty look.

"Yes? What is it daughter?" He prompts her.

"Well, Eliot has discovered that there is someone else he's still attracted to even though we're Mated, it's not an issue, but we wondered if you knew why this was happenin'?" Jayda explains, leaving out the gender of the person he's attracted to on purpose, not wanting to risk her father figuring out it's Quinn.

"This person is male, yes?" He asks knowingly, receiving nods from them both before continuing "it's just the way it seems to work in bisexuals and even some gay men, but for them it will be one she-wolf he's attracted to, it's his wolf's imperative to breed in those cases, the reason why it happens to bisexuals isn't known, but I believe it is just both sides of the sexuality wanting a Mate, although Eliot is the first known bisexual True Alpha, so it's not been written about much until now but I think it's just as simple as that, is there anything else?"

"No" they both answer quietly, holding each other even tighter.

"Good, I need to be going, I have a shift at the hospital, Quinn and Sarah will be a few hours more at least, so take this time to talk about what's already happened and what's going to happen next, look after each other" he says, smiling kindly at them both before turning for the door and leaving, leaving Eliot and Jayda to marvel at this turn of fate.


	32. Rest and Relaxation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Jayda have some private R+R time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm still tired but I'm also in insomnia city at the mo, so writing is getting done, I've decided to post this because you've all been so patient with me, but none of you are talking to me! I can't write better if you don't talk to me! So remember, comments are a good way of saying "I want this...."
> 
> So it's a short offering today but I hope it's good
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

ELIOT/JAYDA

"So we're more unique than we thought, our Bond is so strong because of our unique circumstances" Eliot states thoughtfully, staring down at Jayda in his arms.

"you know we have a few hours alone to pass" she says looking back at him speculatively.

"What do you have in mind, Princess?" He asks noticing the look and recognising it for what it is.

"Well we have a few hours alone, somethin' we haven't really had since... _Before_... so anyway, take me to bed...Caveman!" She answers, pulling him up out of the chair then leaning up to kiss him softly.

As they both turn into the kiss until their chests meet, Eliot dips down a little and takes hold of the backs of Jayda's thighs, lifting her gently, her legs immediately wrapping around his waist as her arms tighten around his shoulders.

"El! I didn't mean carry me to bed!" She says into his ear slightly breathlessly, her breath tickling over his ear and neck teasingly.

"Yeah, but you _didn't_ say I _couldn't_ , did you?" He growls back, nipping her collarbone, then turns for the stairs and quickly climbs them before she has a chance to object.

Once they reach the bedroom Eliot holds her up against the door, using her body to push it closed behind them, bringing one knee up to support her while using his hands to undo her jeans then pull her vest and bra off over her head, growling in desire as her big firm breasts are revealed.

"Oh! El! Shirt off _now_!" She demands, not daring to loosen her hold around his shoulders and neck again until he has hold of her properly once more, but he's happy to oblige, pulling his shirt out of his jeans and up his torso, then over his head and onto her arms, once he has his arms free he undoes his own jeans and then takes a firm grip on her again meaning she can loosen her hold on him and toss his shirt onto the floor with her top and bra before kissing him heatedly.

Eliot works his hands into the back of her jeans and is surprised to find that she has no panties on underneath, something that he knows is unusual for her, as she told him once it makes her uncomfortable to not be covered under her clothes, however he is more than happy to take advantage of the situation, working her jeans down onto her thighs exposing her.

"El, want you!" She growls, nipping at his Mating bite while digging her nails into his back and neck firmly.

"Gggrrraaaahhhh!" He growls out in reply, using one hand to free himself from his jeans and guide himself to her entrance, sliding in in one long, slow, glide until he's fully wrapped in her hot, wet, welcoming, velvet folds.

"Oh! YES! I love you Eliot, always, my Alpha!" She cries as she throws her head back, banging it on the door accidentally.

"Ooowwww!" She yelps out in reaction before adding "I'm ok, it was just a surprise, don't stop!" As he pauses his thrusts at her cry.

"You sure?" He asks, getting a nod in return and another nip to his Mating bite, making his hips thrust into her hard as a reaction, a reaction he is unable to fight against.

As he keeps on thrusting hard and fast into her he leans forwards and bites over her Mating scar, making her instantly cum around him, her grip on his cock becoming excruciatingly tight as he continues to thrust into her, even as she cuts into his back with her short fingernails and screams out "ELIOT!" Making him growl deep in his chest.

"Gods, want you _so_ much, always want you, wanna make you _scream_ my name and cum all over me, wanna have you in every way possible and fill you with my cum until you _reek_ of bein' Claimed by me, until you're heavy with our pups, wanna have you while you're in labour, make sure our newborns smell of me, so that no one will ever touch them or you, you'll be Mine!" He tells her as he continues to thrust into her hard and fast, feeding his own arousal by telling her the things he wants from her, _With_ her.

"Yes! Oh El, I want those things too! Give it to me!" She begs into his ear before nipping the shell of it.

"Down" he growls out, patting her ass gently as he pulls out of her, making Jayda unwrap her legs from around his waist so he can put her down on her feet again.

"Jeans off, on the bed" he commands as he ushers her across the room to the bed, dropping his own jeans and boxers along the way, once she has worked her jeans off and is nude apart from her woolly socks she perches on the side of the bed, not knowing what exactly he wants her to do.

"Socks?" He asks with a raised eyebrow, finding it rather cute she's keeping them on because her feet always get cold, then coming to stand in front of her, holding her head to his hip like he did the night she'd been rescued, enjoying her closeness, suddenly she leans forwards a little and sucks the head of his cock into her mouth, using her hands to turn his hips until he's fully facing her, sucking him in deeper every second.

"Ah, Jay, yes!" He rumbles out, his hands coming up to her shoulders to encourage her without being forceful, Jayda rolling her eyes upwards towards his face, doing her best to smile around his intruding cock as she stares at him in adoration.

"Faster, if you can" he just about begs as she moves her hands from on his hips to round onto his ass, squeezing each cheek firmly and using her grip to control his gentle thrusting into her mouth and encouraging him to thrust deeper.

"Oh! Gods Jay! I'm getting close! Gonna cum if you don't stop!" He tells her as she nibbles at his frenulum before engulfing him again, sucking in about three quarters of his length until the tip of his head just brushes the back of her throat ticklingly.

Even though he's warned her he's about to cum she doesn't ease up on her sucking on him, if anything she increases her speed and strength, making it obvious she wants him to cum, just as he realises that this is what she wants he notices that she's shaking, at first he thinks it's that she's shaking in fear of either him or what he's going to do to her, but then he notices that at some point she's removed one of her hands off his ass and now has it between her own legs, although what exactly she's doing isn't visually obvious, it's not hard to figure out, and through it all her eyes stay fixed on his, slowly fading from violet to blue to white before the gold rings appear.

As his thrusts into her mouth become more erratic, she sucks him even harder and deeper, his tip edging into her throat at the height of each thrust, her throat squeezing his head making him throw back his head and groan, even as his wolf purrs, loving the sensation, just as he tips his head forward again he's met with eyes with tears standing in them, he's just about to pull out of her mouth and ask what's wrong when he can feel a vibration starting in her throat, quickly increasing in volume as she holds his attention to her eyes, her hand on his ass holding him tighter to her as she continues to suck him down, and he can't hold back anymore, her eyes, the feeling of her mouth traveling the length of his cock, her hand on his ass, the vibrations from her mouth are rubbing against his cock and the realisation that she's cumming is too much for him.

"Aaarrrhhh, Jay I'm.... I'm cummin'!" He grinds out, fighting to hold back from thrusting into her throat, just to have her pull him forwards by his ass until his full length is inside her mouth and throat, her throat muscles squeezing and massaging his head and some of his shaft while her tongue massages the rest, her lips practically touching his tightened balls and her nose buried in his trimmed hair, flat against his lowest abs, as he spurts into her throat while she tries to cry out again, he hopes in pleasure, since she won't let him pull back as he spurts again just as strongly, his eyes rolling back in his head as she moans in her throat and growls in her chest at the same time while he continues to spurt into her throat.

When he's finally finished cumming she allows him to pull back, out of her mouth, letting him bend forward and kiss her while his hand comes up between her legs, feeling the wetness there and the soaked sheets underneath her, the evidence of her pleasure making him realise he didn't do anything to pleasure her, it was all her doing the work, so he gets an idea.

"C'mere" he growls against her lips, lifting her with one arm around her waist and the other under her ass, moving her until she's laid back onto the pillows and then laying over her, using his hand that had lifted her to part her legs, so that his mostly still hard dick can brush against her wetness, making it twitch while he kisses her passionately.

"Want you..." he growls out against her lips, while rubbing the head of his dick around her entrance over and over again.

"You just had me! You can't want me again so soon!" She exclaims, thinking that since he's just cum he'll need time before he's able to perform again.

"Why can't I? You're sexy and gorgeous and I want to pleasure you, I mean if you don't want to have me make love to you I could always lick you until you're screamin' my name in pleasure..." he tells her grinning his wolf-grin the whole time.

"You know you look like the Big Bad Wolf when you grin like that right? And as fittin' as it would be to have you 'eat me all up' when you grin like that you know how I feel about that at the moment, and I didn't think you'd be able to make love to me again yet, I was under the impression that guys needed a while between.... goes...." she replies before he interrupts her.

"Darlin', I'm a were, we don't need more than a couple of minutes, which I've had, but with you, I don't need any time at all, I've never gone all the way down after bein' with you until about five minutes later, when it's obvious to my body that I'm not gettin' anymore, then he goes down, as for not lettin' me 'eat you all up' you've stopped bleedin', I can't smell it anymore, Changin' probably healed you up, so it'd be ok so long as you'd be ok with it" he explains, leaning down and kissing her gently.

"I.. I want to have you do that but... but can we wait until I feel ready? Just a few more days,... please?" She begs, wanting to be with him in every way but just not feeling right about doing that together yet, her voice sounding teary as she asks.

"Hey, ssshhh, it's ok, we can wait as long as you want, you just let me know when you want to try it ok?" He reassures her, stroking over her cheekbone with his thumb as he kisses her again and his dick slides slowly over her entrance.

"Oh! That feels so good, will you take me Alpha? Please? I need more of you!" She growls down his ear, making him grin his 'wolf-grin' at her as he slides the head of his cock into her teasingly.

"You need more of me, do you?" He purrs through his grin "is this what you want?" He asks as he slowly slides into her until he's fully home.

"Oooohh yes!" She cries, her voice more growl than not, but he understands her, understands what she wants now.

"Love you, Mate" he whispers to her, a fair amount of growl to his voice too as he slowly draws back from her before pushing back in, not as slowly or gently as he usually would, but she seems not to mind, in fact it seems to be exactly what she wants.

"Mmmm, Alpha-Mate, yes! Want you to take me like I know you want to! Please!" She cries out as she throws her head back and to the side, showing him her Mating scar and submission at the same time, making him growl loudly as he continues his hard, steady rhythm.

"Don't do that again unless you want a _real_ bite again, because I won't be able to stop myself, do you understand?" He growls at her, using one hand to support himself above her and the other to turn her head so that she's facing him and looking into his golden eyes, where he's surprised to find her eyes completely golden too.

"I understand, Alpha" she replies, lowering her eyes deferentially and whimpering a little at displeasing her Alpha.

"None of that" he growls at her whimper, pulling her head up again "I love you, I don't want to hurt you unless it's what you want, ok? No need to be sorry or whimpering, after all, you're MY Alpha too" he tells her with his wolf-grin firmly in place by the end.

"Then please your Alpha, _puppy_ , show me what you can do, I want you hard and fast!" She commands him, saying it right into his ear and then biting it hard.

"Yes Alpha! Yes Mistress!" He shouts out, then stares at her wide eyed with his mouth open, staring in shock, even as his hips start moving faster and harder against her, making her giggle and nip his lip just as hard as she bit his ear, making him gasp and start to move even harder against her as his lip starts bleeding, his cock thrusting into her, grinding his head over her cervix and g-spot, and using his pelvic arch to grind her clit against her own pelvis, the metal ring between making it so much more intense that it was their first night together.

As he kisses her again, the blood on his lip from where she bit him smears across her mouth, he brings the arm he's leaning on up higher, so that he can slide his hand into the back of her hair and cup her head, meaning he can tilt her head just _so_ , so that he can kiss her deeper, the taste of his blood a turn on for them both, making his hips stutter and then stop as he just grinds his pelvis up against hers as hard as he can, feeling her tightening quickly as he does, pulling back from the kiss and looking into her eyes as she tips her head back and to the side again whilst holding eye contact, showing that she knows exactly what she is asking for.

When she slowly blinks at him, sending a wave of impatience through the Bond he knows it's what she wants and kisses her quickly before opening his mouth wide and biting over her Mating scar, as hard as he can, and with his teeth fully extended, as he tightens his bite on her flesh she tightens around his cock painfully and then screams, even as he keeps thrusting into her, knowing it's a scream of release and pleasure because he can feel it through the Bond, bringing him much closer to cumming even as she does cum, knowing he's pleasing his Mate, his Alpha, his Love.

Once her body relaxes it's hold on him and he can feel her orgasm ebbing in the Bond he releases his bite on her, instantly licking over the wounds again and again, helping them to seal and heal, even though she doesn't need any help with that at the moment, in the meantime he's gentled his thrusts some, not wanting to hurt or overstimulate her while she's so sensitive.

"Who told you that you could stop, _puppy_?" She asks, stretching her neck up so that she can stick her tongue out and lick at the blood on his mouth, the taste making her growl loudly and tighten down on his slowly thrusting cock.

"No one Alpha" he answers speeding back up again, knowing that if she doesn't let him slow down soon he's going to cum embarrassingly fast twice in a row.

"Then you better get moving, I know you can do better than this!" She teases, even as he speeds up his thrusts until he's going as fast as he can, before laying over her and kissing her hard and passionately, the change in position meaning the root of his shaft rubs over her clit on every small movement of his cock, bringing her towards another orgasm quickly, but she wants them to come together and through the Bond she can feel he's not getting there as quick as she is.

"El! Kneel up! Put my legs up on your shoulders like you did in Moscow!" She begs, Eliot pulling his body up off hers, bringing his knees to either side of her ass, still slowly sliding in and out of her as he takes hold of each leg by the back of the knee and bringing it up until her calf rests on his shoulder, then shuffling forward until he's as close to her pussy as he can get, then wraps his arms around her thighs, holding them tight against him as he lifts up and hammers at her quick and hard, penetrating her at a different angle that's more sensitive for them both.

"Ah! Yes! Oh gods please don't stop! Want you! Need you to breed me! Alpha!" She gasps out, her breathing nothing but fast pants as he rams at her g-spot very hard and very fast, both hammering it with the head of his cock and rubbing it roughly with his length during every thrust giving them both the maximum stimulation he can with his cock, feeling his balls drawing up he releases her thighs with one arm, using that hand to grip the front of her thigh at the hip line, using it to pull her up along his cock that little bit harder.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" She cries out, tightening down on him, balancing on the edge of her orgasm as his balls tighten until he's quickly approaching the same point, but he wants them to come together and he can feel in the Bond that she's stuck, she can't tip over, so he decides to try to help her, because he's not going to be able to hold back much longer.

So having made the decision he moves the hand gripping her hip and uses the thumb to part her lips, before rubbing over her clit with it, making her whimper in need, so he brings his thumb up to her mouth, getting her to suck it to wet it in place of lubricant, then brings it back to rub over her clit again, this time she groans wordlessly, deep in her chest, as he grinds his thumb over her clit right where her piercing passes through it, rubbing the hypersensitive nerves between his thumb, the ring and her pelvic bone, making her dig her fingernails into the muscles of his ass cheeks and pull him tightly against her as she grinds herself against him, then unexpectedly, they both, as if planned, tip their heads back and howl out each other's names as they both cum, her pulling him as tightly into her as she can, while his body convulses over her as he cums again and again, filling her with so much cum it begins to leak out of her as his hips twitch and thrust into her even while he's still cumming.

"Jayda-Mate! Love you so much!" He tells her, gasping as she pulls her nails out of the flesh of his ass.

"Love you, Eliot-Alpha, you're my whole world, couldn't live without you!" She promises him, dragging her sharp teeth over his Mating bite to seal her promise, before kissing him lovingly with her arms wrapped around his head, making him smile down on her.

"I need you to live too, don't you ever abandon me" he begs before kissing her slowly and thoroughly as his hips make slow grinding circles into her.

After a while of this she pushes him up a little and sighs out "El, need you to stop doin' that!" As he stretches his head down to nibble at her throat.

"What? Nibblin' your neck?" He asks looking a little bewildered.

"No! Need you to stop... y'know... makin' love to me, i'mma little bit tender..." she explains, blushing a little as she avoids looking into his eyes, making him laugh gently.

"All you had to do was say so!" He tells her kissing her nose before stilling his movements inside of her for a moment then slowly pulling out of her, making a mess of the sheets as he does.

"Dammit! El can you get me a towel please?" She asks as she tips her hips up in an effort to minimise the mess, Eliot jumping off the bed and scooting into the bathroom, coming back seconds later with a smallish, hair-sized towel for her, which she uses to clean up as much mess as possible.

"You done cleanin' up? Good, c'mere give me a cuddle!" He says waiting until she's done cleaning before pulling her in against his side, resting her head on his shoulder then leaning her head up to nibble along his clean-shaven jawline.

"That's better, I don't mind you a bit stubbly but I wasn't likin' the beard, I'm glad you've had a shave" she whispers to him, then licks along the very edge of his jaw.

"You better stop doin' that unless you wanna go again!" He tells her leaning over and kissing her aggressively, rolling her onto her back and rubbing himself up against her hip, proving that he is still hard for her even after just having cum twice.

When their kiss finally breaks she says to him "enough mister! I get your point, now roll us back for cuddles!" Then nips gently at his bottom lip as he pouts it out in 'disappointment' playfully.

"Yes ma'am!" He says, doing as she commands and pulling her back with him as he rolls back onto his back, her head again coming to rest on his shoulder, she's just leaning up to kiss him when her belly lets out a huge growl, making him laugh loudly.

"So, you're hungry then?" He asks with a big smile "well how about we cuddle for a few minutes and then I'll make you breakfast, ok?" He continues, pulling her into him and giving her a squeeze.

"I'd like that" she says softly, blushing a little over the volume of her stomach growling, then snuggling into his side and closing her eyes for a moment, thinking about all the things they've been told and how much she can't wait for breakfast, wishing she could have her food without having to leave Eliot's arms, but deciding it's worth it to have some of Eliot's cooking.

*****************************************

As they're eating Eliot's phone rings, making him hop up to go answer it, when he comes back, still talking on the phone, he's surprised to find his half-empty plate now totally empty and Jayda is avoiding his gaze whilst trying to look innocent.

Once he hangs up with a "thanks guys, see you soon" he stands over her, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring down at the top of her head, until she tips her head and peeks up at him with her innocent look firmly fixed in place "what? What's wrong?" She says, squeaking at the end.

"You know if you're still hungry all you had to do was say so and id've made you more" he answers before adding "but takin' an Alpha's food is never a good idea ok?"

"Yes Sir" she answers, looking chastened, nuzzling against his arms where they're crossed in front of her face while saying "I'm sorry Alpha, I won't do it again"

"You better not! Or no matter how cute you are you'll be goin' over my knee, understand?" He threatens her, to which she replies "do you promise?" With a teasing smile.

"You're awful" he answers shaking his head and sitting back in his seat.

"So who was on the phone?" She asks curiously.

"It was Parker, she said Eric just called and was wantin' to know if he could have your number so he could arrange to come visit, I told her to give him mine, so we're just waitin' for him to call, do you feel like seein' him?" He explains.

"Well I had been hopin' for time to have a shower together, but we can always do that after seein' Eric" she tells him smiling "but first could you make me a little more? I've never eaten so much in my life and I'm still hungry" she adds looking ashamed.

"Hey sweetheart, don't look like that! You're eatin' as a were now, and we eat more because of how fast our metabolism is, you know this, and you're healin' some major injuries which will make you burn through food even faster, same at full moon because of the Changes, it'll settle soon, I promise" he says to her with a small, sweet, smile while going to get her some more breakfast.

Just then his phone rings, making them both jump, and Eliot's hand reaches out and snatches the phone off the counter.

"Hello? Yes this is Eliot, ... I know she wants to see you... yes... just a moment" Eliot says into the phone before asking her "what time do you want him to come over?"

"As soon as he likes is fine, we're both dressed so it's all good" she replies, before carrying on eating.

"Whenever you like is fine, you know how to find us? ... good, we'll see you soon then" he finishes on the phone, putting it back down on the counter and coming round to stand behind Jayda where she's perched on a stool and cuddling into her, resting his chin on her shoulder and occasionally tipping his head to kiss her neck and the hinge of her jaw.

"Mmmm, that's nice" she moans out enjoying the feel of his solid body behind her as she melts back into him, tipping her head back to rest on his shoulder.

"I've gotta clean up" Eliot tells her after a few minutes, hating to move but knowing Eric will be arriving in the next ten or so minutes and wanting the kitchen to be clean by then.

"No! Don't wanna!" She pouts grabbing his arms where they rest around her waist and pulling them tighter around her.

"Well ya gotta" he says sliding his arms free and wandering back around the counter to quickly clean up from breakfast.

"Lemme help?" She asks still pouting.

"Nope, your wrist is still broken, you stay sat, either there or on a couch, no kitchen work for you!" He says laughing at her pout followed by her (hopefully) mock angry face.

At his laugh she sticks her tongue out at him and jumps off her stool, stalking to the other side of the room and curling up in the snuggle armchair surrounded by cushions.


	33. domesticity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Jayda have a talk with Eric and Quinn spends some quality time with his girls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I've not updated in the last couple of weeks as always it's due to health issues and I'm sorry.
> 
> But on the plus side I have a few chapters ready so it shouldn't be long between updates, hopefully!
> 
> I've also gone through the whole story and corrected all the typos I could find (and I'm ashamed to say there were lots of them) so at some point soon I'm going to reupload each chapter so again bare with me!
> 
> As always let me know what you think, I can only improve if you tell me which bits you like and which bits you don't, so please leave me comments!
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

QUINN/RUBY

When they arrive at the horse farm Quinn lets Sarah out of the truck and she runs for the house, calling for Ruby and undoing her coat, leaving Quinn shaking his head as he slowly follows her with his shopping bags.

"Mommy! You'll never guess what happened!" She yells, running through to the kitchen where she can hear her adopted mother washing the breakfast dishes.

"Hello, shouter, it's nice to see you too, so what will I never guess?" Ruby greets Sarah, drying off her hands and bending down for a hug, not seeing the scrunched nose face Sarah pulls while being hugged, but she stops pulling the face before Ruby lets go of her because she remembers what Eliot said about talking about 'that' smell.

"Sorry mommy, I've missed you and I'm glad to see you too, but it's still full moon, can I go back to run tonight?" She asks instead of answering the question.

"Only on one condition, you tell me what I'll never guess?" Ruby tells her smiling, getting a huge grin in response as Sarah leans back towards her to whisper in her ear.

"Mommy Jayda's a were too now!" She whispers, leaving Ruby with her mouth hanging open in shock.

"What? How?" Ruby asks, taking hold of Sarah's shoulders.

"I don't know mommy, somehow daddy turned her into one, I don't know how" she tells her.

Taking in a deep breath to steady herself Ruby hugs Sarah again and says "you're right I would never have guessed that! Does it make you happy?"

To which Sarah replies "yes, it's nice that she can be one of us so we can all run together"

"And are Jayda and Eliot happy about it?" She asks.

"I think so, but Jayda's hand is still broken so we couldn't run for long, they went off together after we came back to the house, I think they were doing grown up things while they were alone in the woods" Sarah replies, making Ruby blush at the mental picture the information formed.

"Ok missy, Flame is waiting for you, go to Bruce and get what you need to muck him out and ask him to get you the water you need to scrub his stall and give him his drink, alright? And you'll be having dinner here, your grandpa is coming over after his shift at the hospital to eat with us and see both of you girls, then we'll all go over to see Jayda and drop you and their truck off, so get a wiggle on!" Ruby tells her booping her on the nose.

With a giggle Sarah turns around and runs out of the room, swerving around Quinn on her way past, quickly followed by the front door slamming as she heads for the stables.

"Hey, you should call Jay and El and let them know how late we're gonna be dropping her off, I think they were expecting her back after about three hours, they won't mind, it's just they can make the most of the time if they know she's not coming back until about eight, if you get what I mean" Quinn says as he moves forwards and slides his arms around her waist before leaning down and kissing her gently.

"Or at least do it in a few minutes" Quinn pulls back to say before kissing her again, this time more passionately, pulling her body tighter against his when she snakes her arms around his neck slowly.

"Well they might have some time for this but we don't! not with two girls to entertain and a family meal to cook, also I need you to go to the butcher's and get me a joint of meat, maybe lamb? For me to roast, what do you think?" Ruby says, reluctantly pulling back from his embrace.

"I think lamb sounds great, the stopping kissing not so much, but how about I help with the roast when I get back? Would that be ok?" He asks rubbing his nose over hers repeatedly in an 'Eskimo kiss' before stroking over her bruised cheekbone feather lightly, frowning at the discolouration.

"That would be perfect, will you take Jane to town with you? I'm worried she's feeling left out with all the attention being on Jayda and Sarah, if you don't mind, I'll write you a list of items I need from town, but only if you don't mind?" She asks a little distractedly as she starts to think of what she needs in her mind ready to write the list.

"I don't mind, in fact isn't it the type of thing any husband would do?" He asks with a big grin which quickly fades when he sees her turn her face away and... cower from him.

"Hey what's wrong?" He asks gently, slowly turning her head towards his so he can see her face.

"I.. when... Jar... once I asked Jared to do that, just because I was busy and I could tell Jane was bored, he grabbed me by the back of the head and sent Jane outside, then he dragged me to the bedroom and _cut_ the summer dress I had on off of me, holding me face first against the window so I could see Jane in the garden, then he.. he...he ra... _forced_ me to let him... and when I said she could see us he said 'well she won't be _bored_ anymore then will she?' And he... he... there was no family dinner that night, he told them that there was no dinner because their mother was _stupid_ and didn't buy enough food when she bought the groceries, he made them go without and there was nothing I could do... I couldn't even sit down at all so I couldn't go drive and get something...." she tells him breaking into sobs when he wraps his arms around her, stroking her head and making soothing sounds.

"I'm _sorry_!" She cries in a quiet wail against his chest, grabbing twin handfuls of his tshirt and burying her face in between them.

"Hey, hey, there's nothing to be sorry for, I only said it because I think it's something any husband should want to do for his lady-wife, I'm sorry it brought up bad memories for you, and believe me when I say I wish I could bring Jared back, just so I could kill him for doing that to you..." Quinn whispers into her hair as she continues to cry "tell you what, what he did to you, it hurt? And it still scares you now? The thought of having sex that way again?" He asks her, getting nods and hiccups against his chest every time he asks a new question.

"Well how about we get your dad to take Jane for the night and you can tell me what he did to you, and then I'll do what he did, only doing it properly, without hurting you, and if you say stop we'll stop, so I can show you there's nothing to be afraid of anymore, how does that sound?" He asks, kissing the top of her head and squeezing her against himself tightly but gently.

"I... I'm not... not sure that's a good idea, I can't imagine what he did ever being anything but painful, and I don't like the idea of telling you to _stop_!" She confesses to him, letting her head drop forward as she starts to cry again.

"Hey, c'mon now! Saying no is what I want you to do when you need me to, no matter what, and I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't want to try it's fine, nothing to get upset about, ok?" He tells her hugging her into his chest again, after a few minutes she gently pushes him away and says "c'mon, we have things that need doing" before turning to the sink and quickly washing her face.

"Write me a list while I go get Jane ready?" He asks before bending down and kissing her softly for a moment before pulling back and smiling down at her then going to find Jane.

Once he's found Jane and gotten her into her boots and coat he comes back to the kitchen and Ruby "list ready?" He asks as he comes up behind her where she's leaned on the counter writing the list, pressing himself against her back and rubbing himself up against her ass.

"Sean stop it! Not where the girls might see!" She tells him pushing him back away from her a little.

"Hey! I was only coming for a cuddle!" He protests putting on his 'innocent' face, not fooling Ruby in the slightest.

"Yeah, right!" She replies before saying "but here's your list, if you think of something I've forgotten just pick it up too, ok? Just let me get my wallet and I'll give you some money..."

"No don't worry about money, I've got this, no arguments, ok?" He tells her, taking the list and leaning in to kiss her.

"But...." she starts before being cut off by the kiss.

"No buts... I'm paying" he says when they separate for a moment before he kisses her even deeper.

" _Sean_..." she tries again.

"Nope, nothing more to say, we're off, love you, we'll be back soon" he says before quickly kissing her again and then leaving the room calling for Jane, quickly followed by the sound of the front door closing behind them.

"Okay then" she says out loud to herself before shaking her head and heading to get some laundry to put on before cleaning the living room.

QUINN

Once Quinn has Jane strapped into her seat in the truck he gets in himself then turns to her.

"So do you want the radio or do you wanna talk?" He asks her, determined to make her feel as important as Sarah is to him.

"Is it ok if we talk? I don't want to be a bother" she replies, making him grind his teeth in anger at this sign of Jared's psychological torture of them all even his supposed 'favourite'.

"No honey that's fine, I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to talk with you, and you're never a bother, ever" he tells her, leaning over to give her a kiss on the top of the head.

"Where are we going?" She asks as he pulls out of the driveway for the farm and points them towards town.

"We're going into town to get some things for dinner, because your grandfather is coming over to see both of you girls and have dinner with us all, before we all go over to visit aunt Jayda and Eliot" Quinn tells her, looking over and giving her a smile.

"Oh, ok, why are you taking me with you?" She asks looking confused.

"Because I want to spend some time with you after spending time with Sarah so much, because I love you too and I wanted to ask you if you want me to take you skating tomorrow morning instead of mommy?" He answers, smiling at her again.

"So Sarah's not your favourite? You love us both the same? And... yes i'd like you to take me skating, but you've gotta go riding with Sarah too, you have to be _fair_!" She tells him, making him grind his teeth again at the question of favouritism that he knows is rooted in Jared's treatment of them.

He's so angry he pulls over and takes a couple of deep breaths then turns to Jane to unbuckle her and give her a cuddle while he explains, but is devastated to find her cringing and curling up away from him in what seems to be terror.

"Oh Tazzie no!, I'm not gonna hurt you! I pulled over so I could unbuckle you and give you a cuddle, I wanted to explain that I could never have a favourite between you both, but I needed to calm down first because I'm so _mad_ at Jared that he made you both think things like this! I'm not mad at you and even if I was i'd never, ever hurt you, I promise" he tells her, reaching out and gently stroking her head.

"You're not going to slap me or twist my arm or leg?" She asks muffled by her coat and scarf that she's curled up into.

"I would _never_ do any of those things! And any adult who would should be arrested for abuse, i'd never do anything to hurt you, I love you!" He explains, getting her to uncurl and look up at him through huge scared eyes.

"Da... _Jared_ used to say he loved us right before he hurt us...." she whispers while she stares up at him.

"Well I'm not Jared, thank god, but I've never hurt you and I never will, if ever I do you tell your mommies and Eliot and they'll make sure I _never_ hurt anyone again, I wouldn't want to hurt you, I hate people who hurt kids, so can I have that cuddle, please?" He asks quietly, waiting for her nod before he unbuckles her belt and draws her over the seat until she's sat on his lap with her arms around his neck, where she whispers in his ear.

"I'm sorry I made you mad!" She cries against his neck, her tears quickly wetting the collar of his tshirt as they run down his neck.

"Hey, hush sssshhhhh, it's ok, you didn't know it'd make me mad, you don't need to be sorry or get upset, everything is ok, you're not in any trouble, like I said I just wanted you to know I'll never have a favourite between you and Sarah, you're twins, you'll always be _equal_ in my eyes" he soothes her, rocking her back and forth as she starts to calm down.

"Even though we're not really twins? And Sarah has another mommy and daddy and I don't? And Sarah's a werewolf and I'm not?" She asks him, laying out the differences between her and Sarah for him to comment on.

"Ok, well you might not be twins by blood, but you are in your hearts right? Even though you know she was born of a different mommy and daddy she's still your sister isn't she?" He asks first, waiting until she nods before he continues.

"And the fact that we know Sarah's other mommy and daddy doesn't change that I'm your dad all the time, for both of you, and when Sarah spends time with her other mommy and daddy you get to spend special time with me and your mommy doing things we don't do with Sarah, so you both get special time with your 'real' mommies and daddies, ok?" He explains, feeling he hasn't got this explanation quite as right as the first but getting his point across that she's just as special as Sarah is in her own ways, waiting for her nod again before he finishes.

"And Sarah being a were makes no difference to me, it's just who she is, no better or worse because of it, do you think I'm worse or worth less because I'm not a Native like you, your mom and your grandpa?" He asks.

"No it's just the colour of your skin, it isn't important, how nice you are to people is what's important" she answers him, giving him a pang of guilt over his choice of profession.

"Well that's how I feel about Sarah being a were, it's just how she looks occasionally, it's not important" he finishes explaining, glad to see she's stopped crying and no longer looks scared "so, we ok now? You're not upset at me anymore?" He asks her.

"I wasn't upset at you! I was just scared i'd upset you!" She says, her lip quivering.

"Well you didn't, so lets just forget about it and go get the groceries, ok?" He asks, smiling at her and giving her a little tickle.

"Stop it! That _tickles_!" She cries out laughing.

"I know! it's meant to! Now c'mon slide back across into your seat and we'll get you strapped back in and get to the grocery store" he says, waiting until she's settled back into her seat before doing her seatbelt back up for her, then getting them moving again, after a minute or two he feels a tug on his wrist and allows his hand to be pulled over a little by Jane, who wraps her fingers around two of his and just smiles, happy holding her daddy's hand.

ELIOT/JAYDA

Eliot finishes cleaning the kitchen and comes through to the living room, standing in front of the chair Jayda has curled up on and asking "room on there for another one?"

"Ok" she answers, gently massaging her broken wrist with a wince.

"You hurtin'?" He asks her, looking worried.

"Yeah its just been achin' alot since I tried liftin' the med kit" she tells him, looking up at him with a slightly distressed expression.

"Wait just a second!" He tells her, going back to the kitchen and rummaging for a minute before coming back and perching on the edge of the chair.

"Here, give me your arm" he says gently, taking hold of her hand and bringing her arm to lay across his legs, where he wraps it in a plastic frame splint and then firmly bandages over it to hold it in place and hold her hand still so she can't move her wrist.

"Any better?" He asks just as Jayda's phone rings in her pocket, her left pocket, and she starts trying to pull it out with her uninjured right hand.

"Here let me, I'll get it out for you" he says reaching into her pocket and pulling her phone out before handing it to her as he quickly swoops in to give her a small kiss.

"Hello?... oh hey Ru, what's up?... ok, yes that's not a problem, about what time?... yeah eight's fine... we'll see you then... bye!" Jayda says into the phone before turning to Eliot.

"They're not bringin' Sarah back until eight, so once we've talked to Eric we have all day and early evenin' to ourselves! Think you can think of somethin' for us to do?" She asks Eliot, stroking down his arm with her short nails, making him shiver.

"I think I can think of somethin'... yeah...." he murmurs as he leans over her, kissing her and gently pushing her back, until she's sprawled over the whole chair with him kneeled between her thighs as he kisses her passionately.

Just then there's a knock on the door, making Eliot groan and flop down on top of Jayda.

"Get up! Get up! Move El! that'll be Eric!!!" She says trying to push him off her one handed (rather unsuccessfully it has to be said) before he mumbles "Every. DAMN. Time!" and climbs off the chair, smoothing his hair back and adjusting himself as he heads to the door, just about giving Jayda enough time to make herself look presentable before he opens it.

"Eric? Please come in, I know Jay has really been wantin' to talk to you" Eliot says, opening the door wide and pointing him in the direction of the seating area.

"Eric!" Jayda exclaims warmly as she starts to try to get up.

"No! Please, Jay, don't stand up, where should I sit?" He asks politely.

"Nowhere until you've let me give you a hug! You saved my life! So I _have_ to hug you!" She tells him in no uncertain terms, holding up her arms for him to come bend over her to hug her, Eliot watching closely for any sign of threat from him or fear and distress from her, but the hug passes without incident except for the fact Jayda doesn't want to let go as quickly as Eric does,so he just endures being hugged to within an inch of his life with a smile on his face.

"You can sit wherever you'd like" she tells him when she finally lets go, as he sits Eliot comes around to next to Jayda's chair and holds out his hand to Eric.

"Thank you, you looked after my daughter and tried your best to look after Jay, I owe you for savin' everythin' that's precious to me, you ever need anythin', just ask" he tells the huge man as they shake hands before adding "and try to find a better way to help people, I know you're doin' good in protectin' these victims you care for, but I think you can do better, and so do you, I think"

"Thank you Mr Spencer, you're right I want to do more to help people, I have a lot to make up for, and I've got no idea where to start, but I'll figure it out, and thank you for the offer of your help in the future, you don't owe me anything but I'm not going to turn down the offer" Eric replies, looking like an overgrown bashful ten year old.

"Enough Eliot, let go of his hand!" Jayda tells him, making him realise he'd never stopped shaking Eric's hand.

"Sorry" he says a little uncomfortably "would you like a drink?"

"Yeah, whatever you have is fine" Eric answers and Jayda just nods in the affirmative.

While he goes to get the drinks Jayda leans forwards and starts asking Eric questions.

"How have you been? Do you know what you're doin' next?" She asks first.

"It's been nice to relax for a few days in a nice quiet town, I _like_ it here, I kinda wish I could set up a home base here, but no, I have no idea what I'm going to do next, I know I don't want to carry on the way I have been, I've read up on what little I could find about each of you guys online, and it's amazing, the people each of you have helped, and yeah some of the epic thefts you've pulled off make me wish I had your skill sets, where did you learn it all?" He tells her just as Eliot brings three cups of tea in and places the tray next to Eric on the end table, taking two of the mugs he hands one to Jayda and keeps hold of the other while he settles down beside her, indicating that the last mug was for Eric and he should help himself to milk, lemon and honey as he wishes.

"Well we learned how to fight as kids, scrappin' at school, learned some martial arts, fightin' in alleys, pretty much any trouble we could find, we had our reasons for wantin' to learn to fight and protect ourselves, from there I joined up at eighteen and had lots of... _trainin_ ', specifically to kill as quickly, cleanly and soundlessly as possible, and how to get away once it was done, I was also trained in forms of interrogation that the USA do not use, _honest_ ,... meanwhile Jayda went to London and...." Eliot starts while Jayda sips at her tea that Eliot had already prepared exactly how she always loved it.

"And I carried on with the martial arts, added some new ones, and then hired a man who had been trained by the black ops section of the green berets, I hired him to teach me about modern weapons, I already knew the ancient based ones through my martial arts, so this was for guns and such, and to train my endurance, includin' endurance under torture, and then teach me how to torture others, it was a tough five years but by the time I was twenty three I was as trained as I could be, as well as fightin' and weapons i'd learned lockpickin' and safecrackin', climbin' and rappellin', plannin' ops and logistics, how to use explosives, how to lie convincingly and beat polygraphs, how to forge documents and how to perform basic surgery on myself, my dad taught me that one, and i'd gotten my Bachelors Degree in Art History, I started workin' as an art historian doing 'dark' jobs in my own time as a civilian contractor attached to a black ops team, they liked the fact I was a curvy woman, it helped with undercover work, people never remembered my face, only my chest or my ass, made gettin' in places easy, after a while I stopped doin' that work due to a serious injury, i'd still do occasional jobs but not very often, I did some art forgeries and a lot of retrieval jobs, made a lot of money, invested it well and made a killin', that money is now in a high interest account and I live off the interest, after havin' this house built of course, in a place that was special to us..." she explains, ending her story looking into Eliot's eyes smiling softly.

"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been together? Because you give off two different vibes, one that screams 'new couple' and one that says 'we've been together forever' which is it?" Eric asks at seeing the way they smile at each other and having heard them both say they've known each other since they were kids.

"Well that's kinda complicated, because the answer is both are true in their own ways, we were best friends from a young age and when somethin' horrific happened we became bonded, which is like bein' soulmates, we carried on and grew up, and I always knew I was in love with Eliot, but he never loved me in that way..." Jayda starts explaining this time before being interrupted by Eliot, who speaks up in his own defence.

"Or rather I didn't realise I did until it was, or I thought it was, too late, and by then I figured i'd lost her, eight years ago we unintentionally crossed paths and I told her how I feel, and we spent the night together, when I woke up she'd gone, no note and no number left behind for me, I could have come here lookin' for her but I figured she would have left contact details if she wanted to hear from me, and I never saw her again until seven days ago when she came to ask for my help gettin' Sarah back, at which time we became Mated, which is an unbreakable bond, we'll be together forever now, just the two of us, so it is both a new and old relationship, but either way it's unbreakable." Eliot finishes the explanation.

"Wow, and neither of you are _ever_ going to want to be with anyone else? Not even as a passing fantasy?" Eric asks.

Eliot and Jayda quickly look at each other and both instantly know they agree on the answer they want to give him.

"Nope, weres mate for life, we never want another once we're Mated" Eliot answers, only feeling a little bad at the incompleteness of the answer.

"Eric, I've been thinkin', if you're serious about wantin' to change what you do, and usin' the skills you have to help people, are you willin' to train in some skills you don't yet have?" Jayda asks thoughtfully.

"Yes!, of course I'm willing to learn the things I don't already know that I'll need to, I won't get far if I'm not" Eric answers a little confused.

"If I can arrange your trainin' would you be willin' to work with me, and maybe Eliot, Quinn and the others occasionally, doin' retrievals and cons and maybe the occasional outright theft?" Jayda asks, showing what she's thinking about.

"Well yes, i'd be honoured to work with you, or for you, as the case may be, do you know someone who could train me?" Eric replies looking excited.

"It'll be us trainin' you, Eliot, Quinn and I on the fightin' and disarmin', me and Parker on thefts and locks and Hardison will try to teach you how to hack electronic locks, if that's acceptable to you?" She explains, happy to see his reaction.

"When do we start?" He asks enthusiastically, grinning widely.

"Not until new year, we're stayin' here until January, havin' a little time off, lettin' Quinn get married and givin' Eliot a chance to get to know his daughter, you are of course welcome to stick around so you can get to know everyone a little better or you can head to Portland, Oregon and find an apartment, ready for the new year, the choice is yours" she informs him, smiling back at him as Eliot squeezes her gently, glad to see her smiling.

"I'll stick around for another week at least if that's ok, i'd like to get to know the team better if I'm going to be spending time with them in Portland" Eric tells her, nodding to Eliot in respectful acknowledgment.

As she goes to answer Jayda is suddenly hit by an unexpected yawn which she quickly covers with her bandaged hand.

"I guess I should go, you're obviously tired and could do with some sleep, and I don't wanna outstay my welcome, but is it ok if I come back in a couple of days?" Eric asks.

"You don't have to leave! But if you wanna come back of course you'll be welcome, I wanna hear about your history next time, ok?" Jayda demands with another smile and yawn.

"I promise to tell you whatever you want" he promises as he stands up to leave.

Once Eliot has stood to show him out Eric bends over Jayda and gives her a hug saying "I'm so glad you seem well and happy, make sure he looks after you well, I'll see you in a few days" before kissing her cheek and standing up straight and letting himself be led to the door and let out, but turning in the doorway and shaking Eliot's hand with a smile.

Once the door is closed Eliot comes back to the chair and says "you tired?" To which Jayda gives a small nod and a shrug "well c'mon then lets go upstairs and have a cuddle, see if you drop off ok?" He proposes, pulling her up from the chair and wrapping his arms around her waist while she wraps hers around his neck.

"Love you, Alpha" she whispers to him as she rests her head on his shoulder so that her lips are right next to his ear.

"Love you too, Jayda-Mate" he whispers back, turning his head to kiss her gently before letting go of her waist and stepping back out of her arms, then taking hold of her hand and slowly leading her up the stairs.

QUINN

Soon Quinn and Jane have gotten everything on the list, and a few extra items, and they're heading back to the truck, Jane telling him everything about her ice skating and how often she goes and why she chose it as her sport of choice.

Quinn is listening to her ramble and smiles softly whenever she looks up at him for approval as they walk, Quinn holding the groceries in one hand and Jane's hand in the other.

"Hey, Tazzie, can you let go so I can get the keys out?" He asks as he frees his hand and rummages in his pocket for the truck keys, pulling them out and unlocking the doors with it, then leaning in and placing the grocery bags on the floor in front of the back seat before slamming the back door shut and turning to look at Jane.

" _Jane_? Where are you sweetheart?" He calls when he can't see her, starting to worry he's lost his other new daughter this time, before randomly looking into the cab of the truck as he panics and spots Jane sat in the passenger seat waiting for him.

"Oh! Tazzie! You scared me! _Please_ don't go somewhere without telling me ever again ok? Not even just around the truck, I couldn't forgive myself if anything ever happened to you or Sarah! Are you ok?" He asks, once he's opened the truck door, the panic clear in his voice.

"I'm fine, I'm sorry I scared you, I didn't mean to, I thought I was helping getting into the truck" Jane says sounding worried that she was in trouble.

"Sweetie you did help, it's just next time _please_ tell me you're going to do it, ok?" He asks while softly stroking her hair to reassure her.

"C'mon lets get home and see what mommy wants us to do to help around the house, ok?" He says as he climbs into the truck, buckles her in and gets them on their way.

*************************************************

When they arrive back at the ranch Quinn sends Jane in to tell Ruby they're back while he gets the shopping out of the backseat of the cab, locking the truck as he walks to the house.

Once he reaches the kitchen he's a little surprised to find Ruby's not in there, but as soon as he puts the bags down on the counter he feels a pair of arms slip around his waist from behind, making him say "no, Bruce, not here, somebody might see" knowing full well it's Ruby and that he was gonna get his ass kicked for it.

"You _rotten_..." Ruby gets out as she pulls her arms back, but Quinn spins in place and kisses her, stopping her from continuing in her insult as he makes the kiss deeper and deeper.

When their kiss ends Ruby says to him "that was an _awful_ thing to say when I just wanted to give you a cuddle" punching him in the bicep.

"I know, but it was just a joke, like I couldn't tell the difference between your arms and Bruce's, and the fact that there is nothing going on between me and Bruce too, please forgive me for my little joke? _Please_?" He begs in reply.

"Hhhmmm, I dunno, it was a terrible thing to pretend... maybe I should tell Bruce what you said..." she threatens, fighting to keep a straight face. "Or maybe I should just work you hard to make you earn my forgiveness"

"Please don't tell Bruce! I'll work hard for you, be kitchen slave, waiter, busboy, male escort, whatever you want!" He offers, making her smile slyly.

"Oh, I think _all_ of those might just make it up to me..." she purrs, running a fingernail down the side of his jaw before leaning in as if to kiss him before biting his lip, hard.

."Ooowwww! What was _that_ for?" He whines, pouting his bitten bottom lip out.

"Just something to remind you how bad you've been" she tells him, before looking up at him and saying "now kiss me" an order he was all too willing to follow.

When the kiss breaks he rests his chin on top of her head as he just hugs her and asks "so what do you need me to do?"

Ruby replies "first job of the day? Pour me some wine" before pulling her head out from under his chin and smiling up at him happily.

"Yes ma'am, in a minute, when I'm done hugging and kissing you" Quinn replies, grinning at her before dipping down to kiss her again.

"Sean...." she moans just as their lips connect, his name quickly obliterated by their kiss.

****************************************************

Half an hour later the roast is in the oven on a low heat with rosemary and mint, there are potatoes and parsnips ready to boil for roasting later, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots and corn all ready to be cooked and Quinn is going to make batter for puddings when it's nearly time to cook them.

"Anything else?" Quinn asks as he refills Ruby's wine glass for the second time.

"No, we don't have dessert after such a large meal, it tends to get wasted, so that's everything, and don't think I haven't noticed you refilling that glass" she says eyeing him "you tryin' to get me drunk mister?" Ruby asks, smirking up at him as she puts her arms around his waist.

"Maybe a little, but just because I like seeing you relaxed" he confesses smiling back down at her as he puts his hand into the back of her hair and gently pulls her into a slow, sensuous kiss.

"Well if I get anymore relaxed I'll end up falling asleep and burning dinner!" She tells him after their kiss trails off to cuddles and pecks on the lips.

"I wouldn't let that happen, and anyway I'm _hoping_ there's another level to your tipsyness before falling asleep..." he answers, quirking an eyebrow at her playfully.

"And what would that be I wonder?" She asks, pretty sure she knows where this is going.

"Well _most_ people, when they get tipsy or drunk, tend to get horny somewhere along the line" he replies, his hand moving down from her waist until he can grab a handful of her ass and pull her against himself hard.

"I'm starting to think that's the only thing you ever think about!" She says laughing before reaching up to kiss him, her hand matching his and slipping from his waist down to his ass and squeezing tightly.

"Nope, it's just that you're that damn sexy, I can't help myself, and I always want to show you how much I love you, although I realise that is not the only way to do so" he tells her, using his free hand to cup her neck before kissing her back, thoroughly and passionately.

"We can't right now, Sarah's with Bruce but there's no one to look after Jane, we can't just slink off to bed" Ruby says regretfully when they come up for air, her hand stroking the side of his face affectionately.

"Tell you what, you go drink your wine in the living room and I'll be through in a moment ok?" Quinn tells her, smiling softly down at her.

"What are you gonna do, Sean?" She asks sounding just a little worried.

"Nothing to worry about, I'm just gonna clear around in here and I'll be through, promise" he tells her, still smiling.

"Ok, but you're sharing this glass of wine with me mister!" She tells him as she picks up the glass and wanders to the living room.

Quinn quickly cleans up the last few things and washes the items they've used preparing the dinner before heading into the dining room where Jane is sat at the table, drawing.

"Hey Tazzie, what are you drawing?" He asks as he looks over her shoulder.

"Auntie Jayda's house, but I can't get it right..., daddy? Is Eliot our... I mean... my uncle now he's Mated to aunt Jayda?" She asks, making his heart clench at being called daddy like that for the first time.

"Yeah sweetheart, i'd say it makes him your uncle, and since he's my best friend we'd have you call him uncle Eliot anyway once me and your mommy are married" he answers, smiling at the idea of getting married.

"Are you going to keep drawing for a while do you think?" He asks, trying to find out how long he and Ruby have to be semi-alone without Jane realising.

"Yeah I want to try to get this right" Jane answers, already getting distracted by her art again.

"Ok, see you later" he says softly, stroking her hair a few times before quietly slipping out of the room.

"Hey, everything is cleaned up and Jane is sat in the dining room drawing a really good landscape of Jayda's house, we have some time to relax now" he says coming to sit beside Ruby and put his arm around her.

"I was wondering where you'd gotten to!" Ruby says, nuzzling into his neck affectionately, "Jane ok?"

"Yeah she's just a bit frustrated that she can't get her picture quite right, but she'll get it, she asked if she should call Eliot 'uncle Eliot' so I told her she should, can't wait to see his face when she does" he tells her with a chuckle that is quickly echoed by Ruby.

"He'll pretend to hate it but love it really, he's always had a soft spot for young kids, he always wants to protect them from everything, which of course he can't do, and then blames himself for failing, it comes from his childhood..." Ruby explains before being cut off by a kiss from Quinn.

"Enough about Eliot, lets be more about us" he says before diving back into the kiss, his free hand reaching over to her far hip and tugging her over his lap until she's straddling him, still kissing him and with her arms around his neck, his hand in the back of her hair holding her head where he wants it and the other cupping her pert ass and squeezing the cheeks occasionally.

"Sean we shouldn't, what if one of the girls walk in...?" Ruby murmurs, pulling back slightly from the kiss.

"What if they do? So they'll see us kissing and you sitting in my lap, there's nothing wrong with them seeing their parents being affectionate and loving to each other, it's not like we're having sex or anything" Quinn argues while kissing along her neck and shoulder before working back up to her lips and kissing her slowly and lovingly.

"Their parents eh? What's made you start thinking of us that way?" She asks sounding slightly amused.

"When I went to check on her Jane called me daddy before asking about Eliot, it... brought it home to me that that is what I am now, that we are a family, thanks to you for giving me a chance, I'm so lucky and so, _so_ thankful to you for it" he tells her nuzzling into her throat when he finishes, kissing from the hollow at the bottom up to the point of her chin at the top before kissing back down again.

"I knew the minute you touched my wrist, to reassure me, that you were special, giving in to my attraction to you was the best decision I ever made, you've brought me and my daughters a whole world of happiness we never knew was possible, thank you Sean, I love you" she answers, telling him how happy he makes his new family, her arms wrapping around his head and pulling his face against her neck in a tight hug.

"But I still think we shouldn't be like this where the girls might see" she tells him, leaning away from him so she can look him in the eye.

"Are you saying you don't like it?" He asks seriously.

"No! I like it plenty, it feels really good, but... I don't want the girls to see us and think it's a sex thing" she replies, blushing slightly "I don't want the girls subjected to things of a sexual nature until it's unavoidable, sorry"

"It's ok, I understand, I just don't see what's wrong with them seeing us like this, but like I told you, you're their mother, I won't go against you on these things, but don't expect me not to try to kiss you and snuggle up to you and pull you into my lap every chance I get, it's just my way of being affectionate and loving, deal?" He asks, smiling.

"Deal!" She agrees before diving into kissing him, hard and passionate, while pulling the tie out of his hair and running her fingers through it, all the while grinding down against his hard dick that is trapped between them.

"That was unexpected, I thought you didn't want to risk the girls seeing us like this?" Quinn asks, slightly confused but happy at the change of her mind.

"I don't, but I do want you to know how much I love you and find you attractive, and you had said Jane would be busy for a while, so I thought why waste the chance, now shut up and kiss me" Ruby replies before sliding her hands up into the back of his hair again and pulling him forward before resuming kissing and grinding against him.

After a while of their kisses getting more and more intense and her grinding against him bringing him closer to the edge with every minute, he feels her hands leave his hair and slide down each side of his chest before reaching his belt, at which point she begins fumbling at his fly trying to get his jeans open.

"Hey! What're you doing baby? I thought we agreed we didn't want to do this where the girls might catch us?" Quinn asks while holding her hands firmly.

"Don' care, why shouldn't I have the man I love when I want him, where I want him?" She tells him, sounding rather drunker than he expected.

"Ruby, did you have breakfast this morning?" He asks thinking he knows what's wrong.

"No, I felt sick because I had a migraine, so I took a migraine pill with some orange juice instead, why?" She answers him petulantly.

"Are you supposed to not drink alcohol on those pain pills?" He says surmising the answer.

"It says not to but I have before..." she says starting to whine because she feels picked on.

"But had you eaten those times?" He finally asks, trying to sound playful so she won't feel attacked anymore.

"Yyyeeessss... oh! Imma sorry!... I din't mean to get drunk! I din't even think!" She says sounding like she's getting upset.

"Hey! It's ok! How about you cuddle in next to me and have a nap and I'll make sure the dinner is cooking at the right temperature at the right time and I'll wake you up before your dad gets here, ok?" He asks, gently nudging her off his lap and into the seat next to him on the sofa and cuddling her in under his arm.

"Love you Sean, I don't deserve you" she whispers before dropping into a heavy doze almost instantly.

"I love you too, and you're right, you don't deserve me, you deserve better" he replies, snuggling down with her and letting her sleep while he reads on his iPad.


	34. closer family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliot and Jayda get to spend some alone time together while Quinn, Ruby, Diwali and the girls have a family dinner where Ruby has a surprise announcement to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so sorry it's taken me this long to update! 
> 
> My only defence is the CFS is kickin' my ass and it's making me useless.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy this chapter and feel the need to tell me what you think, I can't tell you how much each and every comment means to me and how much it encourages me to write more, it really is speed laced cookies for the muses, and mine have the munchies at the moment so please, please feed them?
> 
> Enjoy darlin's

ELIOT/JAYDA

"Mmmm Eliot? What time is it? How long have I been asleep?" Jayda asks upon waking up with her head on his chest while he reads a book.

"You've only been asleep about a half hour, you must have been more tired than you told me though, you were out like a light!" Eliot replies stroking her head.

"I don't know what was up with me! But I feel so much better now! So what are you readin'?" She asks wiggling upwards in the bed so her head is on his shoulder rather than his ribs.

"What this? It's the first book of my favourite series, it's called 'The Wizards First Rule' you remind me of the female lead a lot" he replies smiling down at her, then putting the book face down on his thigh and using that hand to reach across and stroke her face before pulling her in for a kiss with it.

"What's that for?" She asks playfully, running her index finger up and down the centre of his chest.

"Because you're cute an' cuddly when you've just woken up" he tells her, fully expecting the poke to the ribs he gets in place of a reply.

"Not cute" she mumble-grumbles crossing her arms with a huff.

"Oh you are! You're almost as cute as Sarah!" He argues, knowing it's gonna hurt him but he doesn't care, teasing her like this is just too much fun.

"I'll show you cute!" She growls, launching herself up on one knee and bringing the other over his lap so that she's straddling him, knocking his book off the bed in the process, at the same time grabbing both of his shoulders and pushing him down the bed a little, as soon as she's sat on him she starts to grind her hips, making him glad he'd changed into sweatpants to lay down with her because jeans would have been _painful_ , but as it is it's just really hot since she's only in her vest and panties, he brings one hand to her ass and encourages her movements while he uses the other to fondle her breasts, teasing at the nipples and massaging them through the thin material of her vest.

"Am I cute now?" She asks, her breathing speeding up.

"No, now you're just sexy as all fuck, c'mere gorgeous" he growls before pulling her in for a passionate, dirty kiss.

"That doesn't get you out of trouble, _puppy_ , just so you know, but for now I want you to get these sweatpants off, got it?" She commands, tugging at the waistband as she continues grinding against his throbbing, hard cock.

"Mmmmm, yes ma'am! But one thing..." he says taking hold of her waist firmly, before rolling them over so she's on her back and finishing "ladies first!"

"Oh you!..." is all she manages to get out in reply before Eliot is kissing her harshly, nipping at her lips as he kisses her, making it a fight for dominance as he pulls her vest up her ribs and over her breasts before pulling her shorts down her thighs as far as he can reach while still kissing her.

"Mine!" He declares as he kneels up, pulling her with him and pulling her vest up over her head and down her arms before tangling it around her wrists and pulling it tight to hold her.

" _Eliot_!" She cries out as he holds her down by the material caught and tied around her wrists, then he kisses her again, deeply and intrudingly as his other hand pushes her shorts down past her knees, Jayda pulling her legs out as he holds them there until he can throw them off the bed.

"Stay still!" Eliot growls at her as he uses both hands to push his sweatpants down to his knees before laying back down over her, holding her in place by her tied wrists again as he resumes claiming her mouth brutally, the taste of blood soon being shared between them.

As he kisses her he uses his free hand to encourage her to wrap her legs around his hips as he starts to move, rubbing against her clit with the length of his shaft, the ring through her clit feeling great against his swollen length.

"Gods that feels good!" He tells her, growling it into her ear as he nips her neck, holding her down at the wrists as she arches up against him.

"Please..." she gasps out in response, lifting her hips and trying to manoeuvre so that he'll enter her.

"Please what?" He asks grinding over her clit harder.

"Please... need you... want you so much... _please_!" She begs, panting desperately as he continues to tease her evilly.

"Well I don't know... you want me to take you? Show you who's master?" He quietly pants into her ear, the feeling of his breath running over her neck and shoulder making her shudder as she yearns to be bitten.

"Please!!" She whines out, begging tearfully and almost unknowingly in her desperation.

"Well, I'm never one to leave a lady in desperate circumstances..." he whispers as he slides into her, her natural wetness making it an easy glide in until he's all the way inside her, as deep as he can get, groaning as he feels her ridged internal muscles clench down on his length.

"Ggrrr, my Jayda, always feel so fuckin' _perfect_ , how did I ever live without you by my side?" He growls, kissing her again, but gently this time, a slow gentle kiss full of love, matched by his movements inside of her.

"Eliot!" She cries out when their lips part "love you so much! My Mate, my Master, my Alpha! Just wanna love you forever!" She adds before kissing him back, her passion for him breaking through in the kiss, making it less gentle.

"Always love you, you're my soulmate" he replies, nipping her Bond scar before licking over it lovingly, making her shake and clench around him.

As she tightens down on him she brings her bound wrists behind his head and does her best to take hold of his neck tightly and rolls them back over so that she's straddling him, moaning out as she comes to settle sat on his hard length, feeling how deep he is inside of her, before starting to move, grinding backwards and forwards along his length, his shaft massaging her g-spot and his pelvic bone grinding her pierced clit between them, making her gasp and shiver.

"Oh Eliot! Always feels so good..." she tells him, bringing her hands to his chest and using them to support herself as she leans down to kiss him, but as she does he grabs the material tying her wrists and pulls them up and back behind his neck, encouraging her to kiss him as she can't sit up straight now.

"C'mere, wanna kiss you" he tells her, one hand going straight to her ass and the other sliding up into the back of her hair to cup her head and pull her down into a kiss, where he bites her lip with an extended fang making it bleed before licking over it and kissing her, transferring the taste of her own blood into her mouth from his tongue.

"Ah! El! Gonna..." she starts between kisses, being cut off when he claims her mouth again, not needing for her to tell him she's going to cum as he can feel it through the way she's trembling and how much tighter she's getting inside, not to mention the spread of her natural lubricant all over his pelvis and abs.

She pulls her hands out from behind his head so that she can sit up, arching her spine, pushing her large breasts forwards above his face enticingly and tipping her head back as she grinds against him just that little bit harder until a primal cry rises in her throat, calling to his wolf, telling him to come and claim what's his, as soon as the cry tails off and she goes limp and relaxed he lifts her off his hard cock and puts her on the bed next to where he's laid, still on her knees.

As soon as he's sure she's stable he pulls himself up until he's sat and then swings onto one knee before moving around behind her, his hand going to her throat, holding her up straight so her back rests against his chest while she pants, trying to catch her breath from her orgasm as his other hand goes to her hip, pulling her back tight against him.

He slides up and down her asscrack, enjoying the feeling of her round cheeks flexing around his length as he moves before sliding his hand forward from her hip to down between her thighs, slowly stroking over her slit but not pressing in between the lips, just a teasing caress along the length.

"Open up for me baby, let me touch you...." he purrs into her ear as he uses his hand to nudge her thighs apart a little, giving him easier access to her most sensitive parts, before long he has his fingertips pressed over her clit, rubbing gently while he nibbles at her neck, his hand still holding her throat to keep her head where he wants it.

" _Please_... please don't tease... need you..." she whines, rubbing back against his cock which is still riding her asscrack, clenching her cheeks hard around it making every move more intense for him.

"That's what you want?" He growls into her ear, waiting for her nod before taking hold of her clit ring and vibrating it while pressing it hard against her body.

"You sure?" He asks one last time as she gasps harshly at the sensation before she finally cries out "yes!"

"As you wish!" He says, pulling his hips back and dipping them until he can slide his cock along the length of her slit before pulling back and sliding into her, all the way to the hilt until his abs are crushed up against her ass, grinding hard against her at the height of his long, slow, thrust before pulling back until just his tip remains inside of her .

Then he asks her "is this what you want? Your Alpha behind you, Matin' with you?" As he slides slowly into her again, his actions completely different from the expectations his words evoke.

"Yes, please...." she hisses out, grinding back against him as hard as she can with his grip back on her hip, while he undulates his body against her back, his hardness sliding in and out of her smoothly as she pulses around him.

"Oh, yes!" She cries, obviously enjoying the feel of him inside her while he holds her in place, her hands tied and his tight grip around her throat.

He grins as he slowly starts speeding up his thrusts, just a little, and slowly kisses and licks along her neck gently, knowing that the contradictions of his actions and words were keeping her slightly mentally off balance and it seemed to be making this better for her if the feel of her tightening around him already was anything to go by.

"Mmm, so wet and tight!" He growls out shifting his grip on her neck and forcing her to bend over, once she's down with her ass still in the air, being filled by his pulsing erection, he lets go of her neck and grips both hips tightly, leaning back a little to give himself a better view of his cock sliding into her, fuelling his desire to thrust up into her more harshly, filling her with his flesh and then his release, marking her again as his, his lover, his fiancée, his Mate!

"Gods Jay, yes!" He cries out, giving in to his wolf and starting to plunge into her repeatedly and hard, gripping her hips tightly, leaving bruises as he rams at her roughly, his cock sliding deep into her, feeling everything inside her, her rippling muscles, her cervix and her swollen g-spot, all rubbing at his head and length, giving him stimulation in all the places he needs it, and although her inner walls are tightening and pulsing around him he's not sure she's as close to her climax as he is.

"Need you to cum for me baby, can you do that?" He asks, grinding against her, his cockhead massaging her cervix while his balls rub against her erect clit, stimulating the most sensitive spots on both of their bodies and bringing them rushing towards their climaxes.

"Ah! Eliot! So close! Please!" She cries out, trying to bring her bound hands down so she can rub her clit but not being able to because they are tied together meaning she has no way to support herself if she does, and she's scared to pull too hard trying to separate them in case she damages her broken wrist again.

"Jay! Ohh! Gonna...!" He growls at her as he hurtles over the edge and convulses over her as he spurts inside her, howling at the intensity of the pleasure she has given him as he keeps pulsing inside of her.

"Jayda-Mate" he barks out once he's finished cumming, realising that she hasn't cum yet he pulls out, rolling her onto her back again he leans over her and kisses her brutally before pulling back and dropping to his stomach, plunging his face into the space between her thighs, immediately he licks over her clit, before sucking it in between his lips and nibbling on it, behind the piercing, sliding three fingers into her as he does, making her cry out.

"Yes! Please! Alpha! Eliot..." she cries out as he rubs over her g-spot over and over again, her hips lifting from the bed and trying to follow his hand when he pulls his fingers back ready to plunge them into her again.

"Want you to cum for me baby, cover me in your cum" he says before pulling his fingers all the way out and plunging his tongue into her hot, swollen, channel, licking and sucking at her hole and her pierced lips, tasting himself mixed with her flavour, a taste that mixed together is addictive for him, then he begins playing with the piercings hidden on her inner lips with his tongue, while his thumb rubs over her clit firmly in small circles.

"Please! Need to!" She wails, her bound hands clawing at the back of his shoulders and neck, trying to find purchase on him to pull him up to face her and kiss her.

"C'mere!!" He growls, wrapping his arms around her thighs and lifting her hips up to his face as he kneels up, pulling her thighs apart and fully pressing his face into her pussy, licking a long stripe up from her opening, sliding his tongue inside for another taste before continuing upwards over her inner lips and up to her clit which he raises on his tongue and then sucks in between his teeth, positioning it so the metal ring passing through her little bundle of nerves is right between his teeth and sucking it firmly before slowly biting it, the pressure from his teeth pressing her flesh together over the metal mixed with the pulling sensation of being sucked finally sending her over the edge into her orgasm.

"ELIOT!!!" She screams out at the top of her lungs, her back arching upwards as she gushes over his face and down his chest, leaving her shaking, panting and gasping as he lowers her hips and thighs back down to the bed and moves up the bed to lay next to her.

"You okay?" He asks quietly as he nuzzles under her ear while he untangles her vest from around her wrists, dropping the vest on the bed behind him and moving forwards to take her into his arms, wrapping her up in his embrace as he bends forwards to kiss her forehead.

"Yeah, I'm good, are you?" She replies, snuggling in under his chin and slipping her arms around his chest to cuddle him before continuing.

"Was it.... ok for you? I'm sorry you had to do those extra things for me..." she asks, pulling back to look up at him in apprehension.

"What are you talkin' about? I finally got to taste you properly, sumthin' I've been wantin' to do for _years_ , and you're apologisin'? I'm the one who did sumthin' wrong, I din't hold back long enough, I should have made sure you were satisfied before I let myself cum, I'm sorry, if it makes a difference I was tryin' to hold back but I just couldn't, but like I said thanks to my lack of control I got to do that to you, and I loved it!... Did you like it?" He explains to her hugging her and kissing her gently when he finishes speaking, making them both wait for her answer.

"It was amazin'! But I feel like I'm gonna be feelin' your teeth for days!" She tells him, letting him know just how sensitive he's left her.

"Sorry, am I forgiven for losin' control?" He asks her seriously, not letting her lift her head to look at him as he doesn't want her to see just how guilty he feels written on his face.

"Nuthin' to forgive, you got us both off, made me feel loved and feel amazin', that was perfect as far as I'm concerned" she tells him as he finally allows her to look up at him and give him a loving, radiant smile, making him smile in return and lean down to kiss her, slowly and lovingly, his spent cock that is resting against her thigh starting to rise again at their shared passion.

"You're insatiable!" She says to him, laughing, as she gently wraps her hand around him and strokes up and down his soft, smooth skin as the flesh beneath it grows ever harder.

"You keep that up and we'll test that theory!" He tells her, pulling her thigh up over both of his until it's lying over his waist.

"Well I'll tell you...." Jayda starts replying before being cut off by her stomach growling very loudly again.

"Again!?!" She exclaims, unable to believe she's hungry again already.

"And you say I'm insatiable?" He comments with a raised eyebrow, smirking unashamedly.

"Fuck you, Spencer! You know why I'm like this! Stop takin' the piss!" She growls at him bad temperedly, hating him making fun of something she's not happy about herself.

"Hey! C'mon, I was only jokin', I told you it's normal to be really hungry while healin', durin' a full moon or when you have your first change, and you're goin' through all three at once! There's nuthin' to be angry or upset about, I promise" he tells her holding her face in his hands before leaning down to kiss her slowly and calmingly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to jump down your throat" she answers, looking ashamed of herself.

"It's ok, you're goin' through sumthin' rather traumatic, your whole world is changin', it's gonna take time to get used to it, but I'll be here with you, no matter what, ok?" He tells her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close while he kisses her forehead.

"Want some of that rabbit stew you made yesterday?" He asks, knowing it's even better the day after it's made.

"Yeah that'd be nice, I'll just get dressed..." she starts before Eliot interrupts.

"Nope, you stay here, stay comfy and I'll bring it up, you still like slabs of bread and butter with it?" He checks as he gets out of bed and pulls his sweatpants up.

"Yeah, there's no other way to eat it!" She exclaims making him smile.

"Right, I'll be less than ten minutes ok? You stay comfortable" he says as he slips out of the door and down the stairs, Jayda snuggling down under the covers following his orders.

QUINN/RUBY

"Ruby? Rrruuuubbbyyyyy? Wake up sweetheart, dinner will be ready soon" Quinn quietly says shaking her shoulder gently.

"Wha? Sean? Where am I? What's going on?" She asks bewildered.

"I didn't know you'd taken your migraine meds and kept filling your wine glass up, you got really drunk and when I realised what was happening I convinced you to have a nap while I took care of dinner, when I had to get up to do that I laid you down on the couch, that's where you are now, dinner's gonna be about a half hour and your dad just called to say he's on his way, so you better go wash your face, I'll be in the kitchen ok?" Quinn explains, leaning down to kiss her before helping her up and giving her a hug, then tapping her ass as she heads for the bathroom, grinning at her as she looks at him over her shoulder because of it.

Five minutes later Ruby walks into the kitchen with her face freshly washed and her hair just brushed, looking much better than she did earlier.

"Sean can you do me a favour and just go into the top drawer there and get me some painkillers out? I've still got a bit of a headache, but at least it's not a migraine anymore" she asks, standing on the opposite side of the central island from him, leaning her hip against it.

"Sure, are you ok taking these with the other ones?" He asks, concerned after earlier.

"Yes it's fine the other ones are out of my system by now, I took them at about eight this morning, I would have been ok to take more from noon, so it's ok now at what? Half four, five o'clock? Don't worry" she says with a smile.

"Sorry, I just needed to check, here you go" he says passing her the painkillers out of the drawer, followed by a glass of water to take them with.

"Thanks" she says after taking them and smiling over at him as he beats some batter in a mixing bowl.

"Is that for your 'Yorkshire puddings'?" She asks as she comes around the island and slips her arms around his waist from behind so as not to get in the way.

"Yeah, you're going to love them I promise" he tells her whisking the thick batter harder as she rests her cheek against his spine.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" She asks, giving over complete control of the cooking to Quinn.

"Nope everything else is done, veggies are nearly ready, the meat is resting and these are about to go in, Jane laid the table, Sarah went to get changed and washed up and your dad's on the way, only thing for you to do would be open the wine for your dad, but I'll do that once these are in" he answers, showing her just how well organised he is.

"Dad won't be drinking, he's driving remember? He would never take the risk, he's seen the results" Ruby tells him making him feel like an idiot for not thinking of that.

"Just as well I hadn't already opened the bottle isn't it?" He asks rhetorically to hide his embarrassment.

"Well if you had we could have drank it when we got back" she says, running her hands down his chest to his belt, slowly inching her hand lower until she's gently rubbing over his rapidly rising dick.

"You need to stop that, because we haven't got time before dinner is ready or your dad arrives, but I promise as soon as we get back from Jayda and Eliot's I'll take you straight to bed ok?" He promises her smiling as he puts down the mixing bowl and turns in her arms, leaning down to kiss her.

"Mmmm, that's a promise you better keep!" She purrs between kisses.

"Oh I will, there's plenty in it for me too!" He tells her, leaning in for another kiss but not quite connecting before Jane comes running into the kitchen.

"Daddy! Mommy! I finished laying the table!... What are you doing?" She asks looking a little puzzled.

"We're kissing, surely you've seen your mommy kiss.... someone before Tazzie?" Quinn answers, nearly slipping and saying 'your daddy' meaning Jared instead of 'someone' but catching himself just in time.

"No, I've never seen mommy kiss anyone like that before except when auntie Jay was in hospital and you came to get us" she replies, surprising him that Ruby had never kissed anyone passionately in front of her kids before him.

"Well you better get used to it because I'm gonna kiss your mommy as often as I can" he tells her smiling.

"Good, mommy needs to be loved for a change" she answers, showing that she's more perceptive than people think, just like Sarah is.

"She is, so, so much, just like you girls are, do you wanna take the glassware through for me too?" He reassures her before giving her a new job.

"Okay!" She chirps, taking the glass tumblers from the counter and taking them into the dining room.

"You ok?" He asks Ruby once Jane has gone through, looking down at her bowed head worriedly.

"Yes I'm fine, just ashamed but so touched by what you said" she tells him, looking up at him wet eyed but smiling, leaning up while pulling him down to kiss him lovingly.

"Love you" he tells her before kissing her again, just as the kitchen door opens.

"Is this a bad time?" Diwali asks seeing them as he walks in through the door.

"No! Sean was just giving me a quick kiss before finishing dinner" Ruby replies, sounding as if she's been crying.

"Are you alright? You sound upset" he inquires looking worriedly between them.

"I'm fine, Sean just said something that touched me, made me well up a bit is all, everything is great!" Ruby tells him, smiling radiantly through her unshed tears.

"If you're sure" he says coming over to give her a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"I am, I've just got to go call Sarah down" she says before making her way out of the kitchen and climbing the stairs.

"Diwali, I haven't told Ruby that I told you i'd proposed to her, I think she wants to tell you, can we not mention I've already told you? I don't want to steal her moment" Quinn asks politely.

"I don't approve of you lying to Ruby, but I understand your reasons, so I will agree this time, but don't ask me to again" Diwali agrees, making sure Quinn knows how Diwali feels about it.

"I understand, I don't like lying but I want her to have this happiness, she hasn't told the girls yet either so for her it's **_the_** big announcement" Quinn explains further.

"oh! Please excuse me a moment while I just finish doing this" Quinn says as he realises it's past time to put the puddings in and sets about the task adding "Jane's in the dining room if you want to go see her" over his shoulder.

"I think I shall" the Shaman says before leaving the room while Quinn works on dinner.

***************************************************

An hour and a half later once dinner has been eaten and the girls are starting to fidget wanting to go play Quinn clears his throat and takes Ruby's hand saying "girls, Diwali, Ruby has something she'd like to say" then turns to her and smiles encouragingly.

"Well first I have to ask some questions" Ruby says ducking her head shyly at being the centre of attention "first off, girls, do you like Quinn and do you want him to stay?" She asks nervously.

The girls look at each other and seem to hold a silent conversation before Sarah gestures for Jane to go first "I like Quinn! I love him and want him to be my forever daddy!" She says, sounding like she's gonna start crying.

"Ssshhh, no Tazzie, don't get upset, come here for a cuddle" Quinn says opening his arms to her and pulling her onto his lap when she comes for a hug.

"What about you Sarah?" Ruby asks once Jane seems to be calming down.

"I like Quinn, and I like that Jane has a real daddy now too, who's gonna be my everyday daddy too, so of course I want him to stay, he makes you and Jane so happy" Sarah answers smiling a little sadly at Quinn.

"And you dad what do you think?" Ruby asks finally.

"Well I do like Quinn and as Sarah stated he makes you all happy, so long as that remains true I'm happy for him to be part of us" Diwali answers, smiling softly at his younger daughter.

"Well, then there's something we want to share with you all, last night Sean asked me to marry him, and I said yes, so he will be staying for good, sometimes he'll have to go away to work but he'll always come back, promise, are you happy about this girls?" Ruby explains.

"I am!" Jane yells bouncing up and down on Quinn's lap in excitement, making him wince a little.

"Me too! But are you really getting married? When is the wedding? Can we go?" Sarah asks meekly.

"Of course you'll be going! We can't get married without our two girls with us!" Quinn exclaims, hugging Jane to him tighter with one arm and holding the other out to Sarah for her to come for a hug too until he has one of the girls on each knee with their small arms around his neck holding on tightly.

"Well we want the wedding to be soon, so I need to ask you, dad, will you marry us?" Ruby asks quietly.

"When are you looking to be married, daughter?" Diwali asks, having a feeling it's going to be in the next few months before Quinn has another job to do.

"New Years eve?" Ruby answers questioningly as if not sure herself.

"This new year? As in two weeks away?" Diwali asks just to be sure.

"Yes, you're not mad are you?" She answers him, ducking her head slightly in apprehension.

"Of course I'm not mad! But I think you might be, trying to arrange a wedding from scratch in two weeks! But in answer to your question yes I would be very happy to marry you on New Year's Eve" Diwali reassures her before asking "may I see the ring?" And Ruby gets up to come around the table to show him the ring Quinn had bought her.

"Daughter this is very beautiful, and fitting to your personality I think, obviously Quinn has good taste in rings as well as women" Diwali says warmly, smiling over at his soon-to-be son-in-law.

"Dad why don't you take the girls through and play with them for a while whilst we do the dishes" Ruby suggests, smiling as she starts to clear the table.

"Let me help.." the older man says before Quinn cuts him off.

"No, go spend time with the girls, we're on dish duty tonight" Quinn insists before taking a handful of dishes out into the kitchen, blocking any chance of Diwali being able to answer back, so he just sighs heavily and follows the girls into the living room.

Once Quinn puts the dishes down on the counter in the kitchen Ruby comes up to him and puts her arms around his neck, cuddling into his body and nuzzling his slightly scratchy to the touch throat with her lips, kissing and nipping along his shirt collar gently.

"Hey! What's gotten into you today? What's that for?" He asks as she continues to show his neck and jaw affection.

"I'm just happy is all, you've made me happy, and I love you, am I not supposed to show it?" She asks sounding a little upset as she goes to pull her arms away from him, but he grips tight to her waist and doesn't let her move.

"Of course you're allowed to show it! you've just been more hands-on today than usual and I wondered if there was a reason, I'm sorry if I made you think I don't like it, I love it! C'mere and give me a proper kiss!" He explains before putting a hand into the back of her hair and kissing her senseless.

When they end the kiss Ruby stumbles a little in Quinn's arms as he draws back, planning to start cleaning the dishes.

"Hey! Are you ok?" He asks, concerned, as he pulls her in tight against himself again.

"I'm ok, just a bit dizzy... ohh, I need to sit down..." she tells him, worrying him a lot as he brings her to one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

"What's wrong?" He asks, going to one knee in front of her as she leans forwards as though to put her head between her knees.

"I just feel really dizzy, and that's making me feel nauseous is all, I'll be fine if I drink some water..." she explains, going to stand up and get the water herself, as if forgetting that she's dizzy.

"Hey no! I'll get you the water, you stay here, ok?" He says, holding her in place and not letting her stand until he gets a nod in response, then he comes to his feet and gets her a bottle of water out of the fridge, opening it as he brings it to her so she can drink it straight away.

"Thank you Sean, I don't know what's wrong with me... I'm sure I'll be ok in a minute" she says taking controlled sips from the bottle as he watches.

"You're sure you're ok?" He asks waiting for a nod before continuing "ok, well I'll start the dishes while you sit and work on your water, ok?"

"No, Sean, leave them, we can do them later or tomorrow, leave them for now" she begs, not wanting him to have to do them alone after he was the one who ended up cooking the meal alone.

"No, I can't leave them like this, let me scrape them clean and put them in to soak ok?" He compromises, getting a sigh and a nod in answer from Ruby who knows it's the best she'll get.

Less than five minutes later Quinn comes back to her, holding her head against his belly and stroking her hair.

"All done, you feeling any better?" He asks.

"Yeah the dizziness and nausea have both eased off some, It's just a little bit of each now" she replies, snuggling her face into his stomach and sliding her arms around his hips to give him a low hug which he returns as best he can.

"Are you up to going to Jayda's?" He asks gently, more than happy with whatever answer she gives.

"Yeah, I really wanna see her, I need to know she's ok for myself, not that I think you're not being honest or anyth..." she explains before he cuts her off.

"I know, I get it, I just wanted to make sure you were well enough to go is all" he explains before drawing her to her feet and walking her through to the living room with his arm around her waist.

Once there they sit on the smaller couch and watch as Diwali holds a conversation with the girls in _Tsalagi_.

"I'm gonna need to learn this language aren't I?" He asks Ruby quietly, having no idea what they are talking about.

"You don't have to, it's just dad's way of keeping the language alive, by teaching and speaking it with the children of the tribe, he won't think less of you for not knowing it yourself" Ruby reassures him.

"No, I just meant so I can understand what they're saying, and since I speak so many languages already I think it'd be rude not to learn the language of my wife's family, can you teach me?" He asks, hugging her to his side and nuzzling the side of her face gently.

"I could but you'd be better off learning from dad, he's usually the one who teaches it" she answers before letting out a little giggle as his stubble tickles under her ear just as he leans in to kiss it.

At the sound of her giggle the conversation opposite them suddenly stops followed by the sound of the two girls trying to smother their own giggles.

"What?" Ruby asks them not getting what's quite so funny about her giggling but at this the girls break out into full on laughter at the affronted look on her face.

"What?" She asks again, this time to Quinn, who just looks at her wide eyed, managing not to smirk at her confusion, while her father loses his battle and gives in to the grin he was trying to suppress.

"What's so funny?" She finally asks the room again, starting to get upset, and Sarah finally answers her as Quinn pulls her in for a tight hug.

"You just sounded so happy and young and cute when you giggled, you looked younger too, and it was just nice seeing you really happy, and watching Quinn kiss your neck and stuff is embarrassing sometimes so it makes us giggle" Sarah explains kindly, trying not to upset her mother further.

"Do you want us to stop hugging and kissing in front of you if it's embarrassing?" Quinn asks, not wanting to upset the girls or make them uncomfortable.

"NO! It's just weird because we've never seen mommy kissed and hugged like that before, it's just because we're not used to it, so it seems naughty to watch" Sarah tries to explain, getting enough of her point across that Quinn gets it.

"Ohh, ok I get what you mean, so you don't mind us kissing and stuff?" Quinn double checks.

"We don't mind, like I said, it's nice to know mommy is happy and loved, and I'm gonna have to get used to it because Eliot and Jayda are way worse than you two..." Sarah replies after sharing a look with Jane, Ruby bursting out laughing at the hard done to look that Sarah pulls when saying the last part.

"Well, with that settled I believe it's time for us to get ready to head over to Jayda and Eliot's house now, so girls, why don't you go wash your hands and faces then bring your boots here to get them done up" Diwali says, watching as the girls leave the room to do as they're told.

"Are you both ready?" Diwali asks Ruby and Quinn, smiling at the 'yeah' and 'yes sir' he gets in reply as they get up to put their boots on themselves, within five minute the convoy of three trucks, Diwali's, Ruby's and Jayda's, are on they're way out of the farm and heading for Jayda's.


	35. Work and play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parker and Hardison find a job to do and Eliot and Jayda continue their day of relaxation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 12% work and 88% porn just so you all know...
> 
> This is to apologise for the last chapter taking me so long to upload, I'm feeling guilty and hope you guys will send me comments if I'm nice and give you another chapter (I can hope, right?) I hope you enjoy it, it is unashamedly pure porn for the most part.
> 
> I'm gonna try to write a little more/quicker so I can get this story finished, there really isn't much more to tell, I promise!
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

PARKER/HARDISON

"Hey babygirl, come read this!" Hardison calls to Parker as he frowns down at his laptop, which is open to Leverage's business email account.

"What's up?" She asks as she drops into his lap (there's a reason he had the laptop resting on the arm of the sofa).

"Just read it and see" he tells her, turning the screen so she can read it easily.

Dear Leverage Consulting,  
I was referred to you by my friend's father Frank (you may remember him better as Santa) he told me you might be able to help.  
I don't want to go into too much detail here but suffice to say I have been robbed of my life savings, possibly by my bank (but I'm not sure), and I was hoping you might be able to get the money back for me, since I've just lost my job I need the money to pay medical bills for an ongoing condition plus my medication which I need to keep me alive, Frank told me you like to meet in person to arrange details, I'm more than happy to do so to show you my case if you think you can fit me in.

Thank you for your time, it's much appreciated,

Highest regards,

Felicity Chase

  
"Hhmmm, do you think we should take it? I mean Eliot, Jayda and Quinn are wanting to stay here until after New Year and it sounds like she needs help in a hurry" Parker says once she's read it through.

"Well what I was thinking was we could go, do the interview, and either do the job just us, or get everything set up for all of us to do it in the new year, the full team, what do you think?" Hardison replies.

"So either way you want to help her?" Parker asks to be sure they agree.

"Yeah mama, she's sick and someone stole her emergency healthcare money from her, of course I wanna get the lowlife scum who did it!" He replies grinning maniacally.

"Ok then, we should probably be telling Eliot where we're going so he doesn't hunt us down and lecture us" she tells him deadpan.

"Sure, sure, I'll call him now, just hope he's not doing something he's gonna shout at me for interrupting, again!" He says as he dials Eliot's number and puts his phone on speaker.

"WHAT?" Eliot growls down the phone in greeting.

"Hey El, we got something to tell you man!" Hardison starts, quickly followed by Parker yelling.

"HI ELIOT!!!" She shouts, not getting that the new phones have microphones that are sensitive enough to pick up your voice without you shouting when on speaker.

"Hello Parker, what do you two need to tell me? And if it's you're gettin' married or you're pregnant I DON'T wanna know" he says still growling, making Hardison wonder what they've interrupted.

"Err... okaaaay, so we've got a potential job, we thi..." Hardison answers before Eliot interrupts.

"Guys I told you no jobs until after New Years, Jay and I want to stay here for Christmas and Quinn and Ruby's weddin', so no Leverage work ok?" He says hotly.

"...and if you'd let me finish... we think we can do this one just the two of us, so we're gonna head back and meet the client, if we can't do it without you then we'll just prep for doing the job in the new year, if we can do it it'll be a nice Christmas present for the client and either way we'll be back in time for Christmas Eve, how does that sound?" Hardison replies condescendingly.

"I promised i'd protect you guys... I can't let you both go off and take a stupid risk because I want to stay here, Quinn will have to find a new Best Man, swing by here to get me I'll be ready in half an hour" he says followed by a heavy sigh that was cut over by Parker.

"DON'T YOU DARE!!" She yells before adding in a more reasonable tone "we're just going to do the interview, the job should just be a hacking job hopefully, there is literally nothing for you to do, if there is the slightest hint we'll need you we'll hold off til after new year, just trust in my planning, ok? and anyway you can't let Quinn down, he's asked you to be someone special for him, you can't change your mind..."

"You're sure you won't take even the slightest risk?" Eliot asks doubtfully.

"We promise, brah, no risks taken, I wanna stay this pretty, not end up all beaten and rough like some people..., is there anything else you need before we head out?" Hardison asks distractedly.

"Yeah actually, how do you guys feel about expandin' the team again? I know we do fine just the three of us but Quinn's been a great help in the past and Jay will be needin' to do jobs where we're not in opposition to each other, whadda ya say?" He asks, looking for permission to offer both the other hitters jobs.

"I'm ok with that, what about you mama?" Hardison answers then waits for Parker's decision.

"I think it might be a good idea, some of the jobs we've got coming up next year are gonna need more than one person to keep everyone safe, you wanna offer them both jobs?" She finally asks after thinking it over for a minute.

"Yeah if that's okay with you guys?" Eliot confirms.

"Make the offer, tell them they have until new year to decide, that should be long enough" she answers with an audible smile.

"Now that's sorted why don't you get back to whatever we disturbed?" Hardison teases with a laugh and cuts off the call to the sound of Eliot spluttering "we weren't... it wasn't... dammit Hardi.." indignantly in response.

ELIOT/JAYDA

"What was all that about?" Jayda asks as Eliot throws his phone down on the end of the bed.

"Parker and Hardison are headin' home to interview a new client, they think they can do the job without me... but I feel bad not bein' there to protect them anyway..." he explains, curling back around her the way he had been when the phone had roused them from their post lunch nap.

"Mmm... is it safe for them to do this one without you?" She sighs out, twisting her upper body so she can see him over her shoulder.

"They've promised that if it's anythin' more than just some hackin' they'll wait until after Christmas, but I know what they're like for gettin' in over their heads..." he tells her, his guilt building by the minute.

"Do you want to go? Because me and Ruby and Quinn can arrange the weddin' without you if you need to go, I'll miss you but I know you'll be back soon,... you will be back soon, right?" She offers him, trying to let him make the choice he needs to without making him feel guilty.

"No, I'm not goin', I wanna stay here, with my arms around you, and help plan the weddin' and be _normal_ just for a couple of weeks, they've told me they don't want me there and they won't put themselves at risk, if they do I'll make sure they regret it for a long time, and they can always call or text if they need a last minute rescue" he tells her, nuzzling under her ear as he pulls her closer to him.

"Mmmm El, what are you doin'?" She asks as she feels his hand slide down from her waist onto her hip and pull her back against him gently.

"Just pullin,' you closer is all, why? you wantin' sumthin' else?" He asks with a cheeky grin.

"Maybe... if you keep on at my neck like this I'll definitely want more!" She says in a quiet purr as he both kisses and nuzzles her neck and shoulder, his new stubble tickling her gently as he moves his mouth.

"So you like that?" He growls back gently before adding "tell me what else you want"

"Just you, however you want me... ooohhhh" she sighs out, rubbing her still naked ass against him.

"There's nuthin' in particular you want?" He asks, whispering right over her ear, his breath tickling her now, making all the fine hairs on her neck and ear stand up.

"No, just you, always want you..." she tells him, trailing off at the end into a shuddering sigh.

"Ok darlin', just tell me if there's sumthin' you do want, ok?" He tells her quietly, kissing the back of her neck right on her spine before gently squeezing her Bond scar with his teeth, making her moan louder as his hand slips across from her hip to her mound, stopping to raise her leg carefully before slowly working his way back along her slit, stroking and caressing the outer lips gently until he teasingly slides his finger between them and draws it forward, leaving her clit and inner lips exposed to his touch.

"Mmmmmm Mmm" she whimpers out, obviously a noise of pleasure, as he slowly strokes over her clit with the rough pad of his index finger, making her squirm as he rubs his hot erection over her ass, leaving a thick smear of precum over her cheek, just making her even hotter for him as she feels it there.

He squirms against her back for a moment, while holding her in place before whispering "I love you" as he enters her quickly but gently, sliding in until his pelvis is pushed hard up against her ass, then slowly beginning a rocking motion in and out of her, being careful to get as deep as he can on every stroke, trying to give her the maximum pleasure he can.

"Aaahhhhh!" She cries out, still being quiet, as he rocks into her, letting him know he's getting it right as he rubs over her g-spot firmly on every thrust, his index finger returning to her clit to rub, stroke and play with the ring hanging through it, making her sigh and wriggle on his cock at the double sensation of being filled and having her clit played with at the same time.

"Oh! So perfect!" He tells her, continuing his slow, deep thrusts into her and kissing her just as slowly and passionately as he can as he leans over her shoulder and turns her head towards him.

"Mmmm, Eliot! Let me face you, I want to be able to see your eyes..." she begs, her hand on his hip encouraging him clenching around a handful of flesh to hold him tight against her ass for a moment before letting go so he can pull out and let her turn on her back.

Once she's settled on her back Eliot moves to lay over her, slowly rubbing his hot, hard length against the crease of her thigh as he starts kissing her again, slowly and gently, but still with passion and love.

"Jade..." he whispers when he pulls back from their kiss, finding her eyes filled with tears.

"What's wrong darlin'? Why're you cryin'?" He asks, concerned, wondering what he's done wrong.

"Nothin's wrong, I'm just glad I have you, that I'm lucky enough to be with the man I love, who loves me back, even after everythin' that's happened, I'm just... moved by it is all, moved by the fact you love me enough to overlook how broken and dirty I am now..." she explains, the tears running from the sides of her eyes when she blinks up at him.

"You're NOT broken OR dirty, you're my perfect Mate, nuthin' could ever stop you from bein' perfect, I promise you! I'm the lucky one, havin' a Mate who stayed pure for me, when I didn't deserve it and who waited even after how badly I hurt you, I don't deserve you, I'll never be good enough to deserve you" He interrupts her, telling her how he sees her and how blessed he feels to have her.

"Show me you still want me and love me, even though I'm not worth it?" She begs, more tears running from the corners of her eyes.

"Always, I love you with everythin' I am" he replies before leaning in to kiss her again, his hips moving so that his cock slides between her open lips, gliding over her clit and along her slit until his head slides into her, then slowly pushing further and further in until he's fully engulfed in her hot wetness.

"Yes!" She cries as he bottoms out, raising her hips and grinding against him before he starts his slow rolling thrusts again, just like how he was making love to her before she turned over, kissing her with such love and passion that she can't stop crying, just so thankful to finally have this.

"Jayda, does it feel good?" He asks, being made unsure by her tears and not wanting to do anything that doesn't feel great to her.

"Feels perfect El! Want it to always feel this good!" She cries out as she tightens down on him, getting close to her orgasm almost entirely from the psychological stimulation of knowing how he feels.

"I'll always try my best to make it this good, promise" he swears, staring into her eyes, before speeding up his thrusts and kissing her tenderly and passionately.

As he does he concentrates on the Bond between them, opening it as wide as he can, sending her as much love, devotion and protectiveness as he possibly can before trying to speak to her through the Bond.

*I love you, always, I serve you, forever, I protect you, with my life, I'm nuthin' without you* he sends her, the gold of his eyes lighting up as he thinks it to her, her golden eyes lighting up in the same way as she 'hears' him.

Feeling the force of his side of the Bond, she concentrates on him and how much she loves him, using her emotions to open her side of the Bond wider for the first time, before trying to send back a reply.

*I love you too, my Alpha, I'm yours, for eternity, in every way, please claim me?* Her eyes glowing stronger as she 'speaks' before lunging up and kissing him ardently, diving into the river of emotion he's sending through the Bond as she sends her emotions to him in return.

"*Mine!!*" He calls out, both in her ear and her mind, his hips speeding up, hammering into her as he leans in and bites her high on the neck as she cums over him, tightening down on his cock making him slow his thrusts, which he makes more gentle as well so as not to hurt her while she's hypersensitive.

*Eliot!* She cries out in his mind as she cums, sharing her orgasm with him in a way he never even dreamed of before, as if they'd swapped bodies, he can feel it all as though it was his female body, not fitting the feelings to his male body in poor comparison, he never knew how different it was for women!

"Jayda, love you... are you okay?" He asks, concerned after her tears earlier.

"I'm great, I love you too, are you okay El? Your eyes are still glowin'..." she asks, wondering if his eyes will always glow like this now.

"Mine are glowin' too? I thought it was just yours!" He tells her getting a surprised look from her too, then Eliot leans down to kiss her and slowly starts to speed up his thrusts again, using his burned hand to pull her knee up to beside his waist, Jayda wrapping the leg around his hip to secure it there.

"Mmmm, yes, there!..." she growls to him, pulling her hips up to meet his as he slides into her, before kissing her and using this new facet of the Bond to talk to her while he does.

*Jayda! Love you so much, want you so bad all the time, feelin' how tight you are in your deepest parts, My Mate, just wanna _Breed_ you* he tells her, letting her feel how badly he wants it and sending her pictures of newborn babies and wolf puppies and a flash of the picture Sarah drew, of her holding a newborn, looking down into its face, one enough like Eliot's that there is no mistaking who's child it is, all in her mind.

Jayda breaks their kiss and stares into his eyes, looking from one to the other as if searching for something.

"What?" He asks, feeling that something is wrong and slowing his thrusts while he waits for an answer.

"You know I want that too right? I want to have your baby, but it might not happen, the scarrin' might be too bad, I don't want you to get your hopes up, just because it happened once doesn't mean it will again and I don't want you to be hurt if it doesn't happen" she tells him looking into his eyes sadly.

"I know, both you and your dad have explained it to me, but it's still what I want and what I'm gonna keep tryin' to do, however long it might take, so long as it's what you want too" he replies smiling back just as sadly before pulling her up into a kiss that is both searing and gentle at the same time.

"Hold on tight!" She tells him, making his arms snake around her shoulders as he kisses her again while she rolls them over, coming to settle sat on his cock, her thighs stretched wide open across his pelvis as she raises herself on her knees to raise herself along his hard cock before sliding back down on it, right down to the root while he continues to kiss her passionately before eventually releasing her and letting her up when they are forced to break apart for air.

"Oh, Eliot yes!" She growls out as she curves her spine, making her breasts stand out further from her front, enticing him to bring his hands up to grip both breasts, playing with the nipples and sitting up so that he can mouth at them one after the other, his arms slipping around her waist to hold her to his mouth.

As he licks and sucks her nipples in turn she starts to slide forwards and backwards, rubbing her clit against his pelvis while he slides in and out of her at an angle that is very sensitive for him, giving her pleasure from her nipples, her clit and her g-spot all at once, quickly approaching the realms of overstimulation it's so intense.

"Oh, yes!" She sighs out, pushing him back down onto his back, his hands coming up to caress her breasts again, soon playing with her nipples, before long she brings her hands up from his chest where she was leaning on them, reaching out and grabbing his straightened arms at the elbows, using them to pull against so that she can grind harder against him, stimulating her clit more until she starts tightening on him, his cockhead rubbing over her g-spot dragging her over the edge into another orgasm.

"ELIOOOT!" She howls out, collapsing down onto him, panting, as he holds her close, kissing her neck and shoulders, waiting until she's breathing better before moving on to kissing her lips hungrily, not giving her a chance to speak, still slowly and gently thrusting into her, prolonging her pleasure.

Eliot wraps one arm tightly around her shoulders and rolls them again, his free hand coming down to her knee and pulling it up until it's alongside his ribs, tilting her hips up against him allowing him to enter her deeper.

"Jay, love you" he whispers in her ear before pulling up on his knees as he draws his arm out from underneath her shoulders, then lifting her hips up until she is balanced on her shoulders, her back curved so that her ass is above her head, her legs are over his shoulders and she's being half suffocated by her own breasts, as she gets further pulled up and curled over Eliot climbs to his feet keeping his knees bent, his rock hard, sensitive, length still buried deeply within her, slowly thrusting as he gets her into the position he wants her in.

When she's finally positioned exactly how he wants her he starts to thrust harder, still going slowly, wanting to make sure he doesn't slip out of her accidentally as he slams into her harder, her lip piercings rubbing along the length of his cock ticklingly with every thrust, he watches his cock sliding out of her until he just sees the sensitive edge of the helmet, then hammers into her over and over again, the sight of his cock entering her, claiming her again, showing her love and devotion, is enough to make him want to cum soon, causing him to start to speed up, occasionally the piercings catching on the head of his cock, making him suck in a gasp at the feeling of the rings rubbing either side of the edge of the head.

As he begins to really hammer at her hard and fast she begins gasping every time he hits her g-spot, which is on nearly every thrust, his hardness rubbing over it constantly with every movement, bringing her closer and closer to the edge of another orgasm.

"Oh Eliot, gonna cum!" She gasps out to him, barely able to breathe she's so close to the edge.

"Me too Jay, want you to cum, want you to squeeze down on me and force me to cum inside of you, fill you with my claim, make sure everyone knows you're MY Mate!" He growls out in return, the moment he says he's close too she starts to tighten down on him, letting go of her control over herself, letting herself rush towards her climax knowing he's gonna cum either with her or soon after.

"Oh! Eliot! Need... need you to... please!... please rub me!" She begs, right on the edge but needing that little bit more stimulation, stimulation she's not getting from her clit because this position doesn't have anything rub over her clit, so he brings one of his hands from where it's resting on her thigh, holding her in place and lays it over her mound, burrowing his thumb in through her pubic hair until he reaches her clit and then rubs over it firmly, before flicking at her clit ring with his thumb and catching it with his thumbnail and pulling it gently and repeatedly as he thrusts into her.

"Oh! Oh yes!" She shouts, tightening down on him even more, making him gasp in every breath even as he starts to growl continuously deep in his chest, a growl that continues even as he speaks.

"Yes! Jayda! Gonna fill you, mark you as Mine! Want you to cum right NOW!" He commands her twisting her clit ring and using the Alpha voice, she's powerless to resist as she's on the verge anyway and screams as she cums, clamping down around him and squirting her cum up onto his chest, smearing across the backs of her thighs as he continues to hammer into her.

As she clamps down around him her internal muscles massage the sensitive head of his cock deep inside her, forcing it to press and rub over her cervix, the hard flesh rubbing firmly at his frenulum and bringing him to the brink, then he sees and feels her cum hit his chest and run down his abs, something he's never had happen before, and it's so erotic that it sends him flying over the edge, his cock swelling and getting stuck deep inside her she's squeezed so tight as he starts to cum, his cock jerking inside of her with every spurt, the feeling of it prolonging her orgasm, letting her know she's giving him pleasure too, and the tighter she squeezes the harder he cums, the wide open bond letting them both feel the sensations of the other, making their orgasms last longer than ever before.

When they've finally both finished cumming Eliot slowly lowers her ass back down onto the bed and pulls out of her, laying down over her he kisses her slowly, gently and passionately, making sure she knows how loved she is, eventually he pulls back and looks her in the eyes, eyes which were still a pale blue colour.

"Hey darlin', you doin' okay?" He asks tenderly, slowly stroking down the side of her face gently.

"Hey, I'm good, you?" She replies, smiling up at him softly and lovingly, gripping his waist and pulling him tight against her.

"I'm great!" He answers, sliding one arm under her neck and kissing her again as he holds the side of her face still.

"We should shower, but I just wanna stay in your arms and sleep, is that wrong?" She asks, pouting a little.

"It's not wrong, but we can't do it, we've gotta get up and showered before your dad gets here with Sarah, otherwise I'll go mad groomin' you when we Change, and I'm guessin' you won't like bein' groomed like that in front of Sarah" he warns her, getting a small groan in return.

"Can we cuddle for a bit? Maybe have a little nap?" She begs, giving him her wide-eyed innocent look.

"Okay, but just a short nap, alright?" He concedes, moving from on top of her to next to her, using the arm that's still underneath her to pull her towards him until her head is on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, a rhythm that quickly sends her to sleep.

He lays there looking down at her, watching her sleep, and gently brushes her hair out of her face and back behind her ear, stroking the side of her face while he plans how he's going to propose to her, just a few days away.


	36. running with wolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda learns how to control the openness of the Bond, Eliot and Jayda learn new things about their Bond, they also reach an agreement about what to do about Wahya, Sarah gets a nasty shock, Jayda and Eliot explore being wolves together and learn about extra changes to Jayda's body when she's a wolf before Jayda has a flashback and Quinn learns not to bring his prank war with Eliot into Jayda's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because someone sent me a comment that seemed thought out, even though I was able to point out my reasons for things being the way they are, I decided to post this next chapter, and of course I've left y'all waiting too long as always.
> 
> Enjoy darlin's

ELIOT/JAYDA

Eliot gently shakes Jayda, waking her up gently as he sits up next to her.

"What? Eliot? What's wrong?" She asks confused, her brain stuttering while she tries to get it in gear.

"Nuthin's wrong sweetheart, just time to go have our shower before everyone arrives is all" he says, leaning across to kiss her and caress her face gently.

She giggles softly at his caress and kisses him back softly before asking "do we have time to share or are we showerin' separately?"

"Well, I think I've left enough time for us to shower together, if we don't take too long doin' things other than cleanin' each other up..." he says with a leer, reaching over and groping her breast before chasing her out of the bed and into the bathroom.

Once there Jayda grabs the towels while Eliot heads for the shower before she says "wait! I need this bandage and brace takin' off and you need those burn dressin's removed too before we go in" reminding him of something he'd totally forgotten about.

"Yeah, sorry, I forgot about them both, hang the towels up and come here and I'll do yours first" he tells her, moving over to the spot at the counter where he usually sits her.

She quickly joins him and he lifts her onto the counter to sit while he unbandages her wrist and forearm before removing the frame brace.

"There you go, you go get in the shower while I do my hand" he says before looking at how the bandage is tied shut around his wrist "okay, maybe I need help with this..." he admits, holding his hand out to her.

She has the bandage untied and unwound in moments, putting it to the side so she has both hands free to work at the dressings that have stuck slightly to the burn.

"Oh! Ah! Stop! Wait, that really hurts" he says, biting his lip to help him suppress his pain.

"I know it does, I feel it, but we're nearly done now, just hold on" she answers, reminding him that both sides of the Bond were wide open, something they'll need to change before going running.

She removes the rest of the dressing as quickly as she can without causing more damage to him then examines the burn closely.

"I think dad's right, it looks like it's gonna scar, are you ok?" She asks as he helps her slide off the counter and they head for the shower.

"I'm alright, I'm sorry you felt it too, I should have closed the Bond down some while you were sleepin', but I totally forgot how open it is" he admits to her as he reaches up to turn the shower on.

"FUCKIN' BASTARD!!!" He screeches out, jumping backwards out of the icy cold spray that had hit him full in the chest as he turned the lever.

"WHAT THE FUCK, ELIOT!?!" She shouts back, pressing her broken hand against her chest in shock at his unexpected, loud shout.

"The water is still set to freezin' after last night, wait... that's not right! I set it warmer for Sarah's shower last night... did you do this?" He asks looking down at her.

"No... there might be somethin' wrong with the settin's or the boiler, I'll go take a look..." she says starting for the shower door.

"Wait! How about I check the settin's and turn it hotter before you go lookin' at the boiler?" He says, grabbing her wrist to stop her, unfortunately he grabs her left wrist and she doesn't stop moving in time to stop it yanking in his grip, making her yelp in pain.

"Oooww! Damn that hurt! Go ahead and check the settin's then" she tells him, holding the injured hand up between her breasts again, this time protectively.

"Gods I'm sorry, are you ok? I'll just check the settin's" he says, braving the cold water to check what temperature it's set to, he finds it's been set as cold as it will go and turns it warmer immediately, soon the water is running at a temperature somewhere between very warm and his idea of hot, he holds his hand out to her and she steps into his arms, shivering as the steam starts to build around them.

"That better?" He asks with his arms wrapped around her, while she continues to hold her arm to her chest, then continues "how badly have I hurt you?"

"You haven't! It's just achin' is all, I'm fine!" She tells him, not convincing him at all but he decides to keep quiet because he doesn't want to have a fight with her.

"Any idea who changed the settin's?" She asks him before leaning up and starting to nibble along his jawline.

"Well it wasn't us, Sarah didn't get the chance to, who else had the chance... Ooohhhh, I'm gonna _kill_ him! He's so gonna regret doin' this on his stag night!" Eliot growls, the kind of growl usually reserved for Hardison when he's in a prolonged geek spiral.

"Who...? Stag night? You think _Quinn_ did this?. She asks disbelievingly "why would he do that?"

"Because we have an ongoing one-upsmanship prank-war going on, nuthin' harmful or dangerous, nuthin' too vindictive, just stupid childish pranks, and now he's gonna pay!" Eliot explains, still growling but with a wicked glint in his eyes now.

"Well you better have his stag party on the day after Christmas then, so he has a chance to recover from whatever you do to him, because you ruin my baby sister's weddin' day and you'll be on the couch for the rest of your life, _understood_?" She demands, her protective streak for her little sister coming to the fore.

"Yes ma'am, I understand, if I promise that there will be no injuries or anythin' that will ruin the big day can I have you now? We don't have that long..." he promises before leaning down and kissing her soundly.

"Lets not waste our chance then" she replies, reaching down and stroking his hard cock slowly.

"Mmmm, that's good..." he purrs as he slowly thrusts into her stroking hand "c'mere you, I want you right here..." he continues as he pulls her in for a more heated kiss before taking hold of the wrist of the hand that's stroking him, pulling her hand off him and using it to turn her around until she's pressed up against the wall front first, her arm held above her head by the wrist and his weight against her back holding her in place.

"Eliot? What are...?" She begins to ask before he interrupts her.

"Trust me? Please?" He begs, not moving an inch until she nods her head silently and relaxes back against him.

At this he uses his knee to nudge her thighs apart, just enough that when he bends his knees slightly he can slide his heavy cock along the seam of her pussy lips, slowly pulling back then tilting his hips slightly so that his next thrust forwards separates the lips, ending with a graze across her already blood engorged clit, forcing a heavy groan out of her throat as he bites her gently, just slightly overlapping her Bond scar.

"Ooohhh, please!" She mewls out, her whole body shaking just from that little stimulation to her hypersensitive bundle of nerves, the swinging of the weighted ring in her clit from where he pushed against it bringing her to the edge quickly.

"Mate, _Mine_!" He growls out quietly, only for her ears, letting her hear as well as feel the possessiveness that boils within him as he slides himself into her, taking hold of her hip with his burned hand as he settles home inside her, Jayda crying out as he reaches her deepest places.

"Yes! _Please_!" She cries, her broken left hand coming around and clamping onto his ass cheek, pulling him as tight against her as he can get, making him let out a low, dirty chuckle, before pulling back until only his tip is in her, giving short little micro-thrusts into her, stimulating all the nerves around the edges of her opening, teasing her while still keeping her close to the edge, he wants to keep her there because he's not sure how long he's going to last and he wants her to enjoy this.

After a while of teasing her with these small thrusts and twitches into her he drives himself in deeply, filling her totally and making her cry out, for a moment he worries it's a cry of pain until she squeezes his ass and pulls him tight against her again, encouraging him to move, which he does, immediately pulling back and hammering into her, going as deep as he can with every thrust, making her give out an "AH!" Sound with every thrust into her.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" She calls out until he takes his hand from her hip and moves it to cover her mouth, muffling the cries but not stopping them.

"You like this that much? It feel that good to you? Don't worry I'm not gonna stop, just hope you're close, because havin' you here like this? It's drivin' me to the edge, wanna fill you, claim you all over again, _Mine_!" he growls at her, making it almost sound like a threat even as she whimpers in arousal at his words, the feelings passing through the Bond overwhelming her.

She tears her face away from his hand shouting out "Eliot! So good! Always yours! Only yours! I'm... I'm gonna.... gonna cum!" Her legs shaking as she tightens down on him, her release pouring out of her, over his tightening balls, the feeling of her climax over the Bond stronger than ever before and dragging him into following her.

"Rrrr, Jayda, _MINE_!" He barks out before clamping his teeth over the nape of her neck and biting her with his teeth extended, making her do her best towards staying still which is not so easy straight after such a brilliant orgasm.

Eventually he lets go of her neck, licking over the bite repeatedly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... that was so intense...." He says, releasing her wrist and wrapping his arms around her waist, nuzzling into the side of her neck and kissing her on her Bond scar.

"Baby, you need to shut down the Bond a little before we go runnin' tonight, I won't be able to protect you both if I'm distracted by everythin' you think or feel, if it was just us it'd be ok but with Sarah and the traps out in the woods..." he explains, hating that he has to ask her to shut down some of the intensity of the Bond between them.

"How do I do that? I don't even really know how I opened it!" She asks, distressed that she can't comply with his wishes.

"Hey, it's ok, don't worry, I'll help you" he says hugging her tightly "all I do is concentrate on the Bond and think of it as like a camera shutter closin' partway until it's where I want it, you wanna try that?" He suggests explaining the visuals he uses to help him close the Bond partway.

"I think it might be easier to do if we weren't as... _close_?... as we are right now" she tells him, blushing lightly, luckily where he can't see.

"Oh ok, just a sec" he says when he realises what she means, giving her a squeezing hug and licking over the bite on the back of her neck a few times as he pulls out of her, thrusting along her slit a couple of times to tease her, before turning her in his arms so he can kiss her passionately.

"Love you, Mate, I'm so glad we're together,... finally" he tells her, before kissing her again and then taking a half-step away from her and grabbing the body wash.

"Ok give closin' the Bond down a try while you wash, ok?" He asks gently as he starts to wash himself.

"Ok, love you too, by the way" she answers, getting a lopsided but genuine smile back before she starts concentrating on the Bond.

She closes her eyes and concentrates on the Bond as she washes, thinking of it as if it were a window between their minds, and as she focuses on the mental window she pictures it getting smaller, like Eliot had described, as a camera shutter closing in slow motion, until it had closed about two fifths of the way from open wide to closed, then opens her eyes and thinks to him *is that better?*.

Eliot shakes his head then looks up at her asking "did you just ask me sumthin'?... I could have sworn I heard..." before trailing off in confusion as she asks him *is the Bond more closed now?*

"Yes" he answers before realising she hasn't spoken out loud.

"It's right now?" She asks out loud, surprised by the... _shocked_ look on his face.

"What's wrong?" She asks when he doesn't answer.

"I... I'm sorry, I didn't think we'd be able to speak to each other like that once the Bond was closed down, it just surprised me is all" he tells her pulling her in again for a passionate kiss.

"Hey! Thought we were needin' to be quick now?" She laughs, leaning back a little against his arms.

"Oh ok, I'll just let go then..." he says, releasing his hold momentarily before grabbing her again, giving her the sensation of falling without putting her at risk of falling.

"Oh! You..." she cries out, before he kisses her again, then gently lets her go so she can continue washing.

"You're a dick sometimes Spencer!" She tells him as she scrubs vigorously at her stomach.

"But you love me anyway!" He sing-songs right back at her, making her scowl at him before answering.

"You can go off some people, you know?" She retorts, knowing full well she's fooling no one.

"You done?" He asks, waiting for her nod before shutting off the water and going to grab his towel after she's got hers.

Ten minutes later they're both rebandaged, dressed and downstairs, Eliot finally wearing his engagement ring again and making a snack for them both.

"I really can't get over how much I'm eatin', how did you hide this from Alec and Parker all these years?" She asks.

"Well I cook all the meals, so while I'm cookin' the main meal i either have somethin' already ready to eat or i make sandwiches or somethin' and eat them while I cook, failing that, like if Parker was watchin' me cook i'd eat extra on my own when I got home, it was just a case of makin' sure I got enough calories is all" he explains, putting a plate down in front of her, which she happily dives into while he joins her at the stools.

"How's your wrist?" He asks, wanting to fill the air between them with the sound of her voice.

"It's fine, it twinges every so often but other than that if feels normal, I don't think it'll give me too much hassle tonight, or I hope it won't, what about your hand?" She asks in return.

"It still hurts quite a lot, burns take a while to heal on us were's, though Changin' should help it heal quite a bit, but I think I'll be the one holdin' you and Sarah up tonight" he says ruefully.

"And I'll stay with you just like you stayed with me, when I really let loose and _run_ for the first time I want you by my side, it'll be so special to share it with you, somethin' we never thought we'd be able to share" she tells him with a soft smile.

Within a few minutes they've both finished eating and Eliot is putting a bowl on the floor before shouting "Wahya! Food! Come and get it!" At the call of his name he limps over to the kitchen, stopping by Jayda for a fuss before going to Eliot for a scratch behind the ears, then he sits looking up at the Alpha waiting for permission to eat.

"Go on then Wahya, dinners gettin' colder!" Eliot tells him and gestures to the bowl, the young wolf recognising permission and pouncing on the large bowl of rice and chicken, both of the weres watching with smiles on their faces.

"C'mon lets go have a cuddle, leave the pup to eat in peace" Eliot suggests, taking Jayda's hand with his unbandaged one and leading her over to the snuggle armchair they seem to have claimed as 'their spot'.

"Hey El? What if Wahya doesn't want to leave when he's better?" She asks once she's wrapped in his arms on the chair.

"Well I don't know, we can't take him to Portland, it's illegal to own wolves or wolf hybrids there, so the only way he could stay would be with Ruby and Quinn or your dad, do you think any of them would be up for it?" He asks, his heart heavy that they wouldn't be able to take him with them.

"I think if he's sure it's what Wahya wants dad would take him in for us when we're not here" she answers, hoping she's right.

"Well we'll ask him about it after Christmas, okay?" He checks.

"Okay, thank you Eliot" she says snuggling down enjoying Eliot's closeness.

Just moments later the door opens and Diwali, Quinn, Ruby, Sarah and Jane walk in, Jayda quietly groaning into Eliot's ear and mumbling "just as I got comfy!"

He chuckles dirtily and moves to get up when Quinn says "don't bother moving, we know what you two are like by now!" Before being elbowed in the stomach by Ruby, telling him to shut up.

"Jay! I'm so glad you're ok!" Ruby cries as she squeezes herself onto the armchair to give Jayda a hug.

"Haha, I'm glad to see you too Ru!" She replies before whispering "why didn't you tell me what was happenin'? I'd have helped you! And what is that on your face?" As Diwali and Quinn greet Eliot, quickly followed by the girls climbing up Eliot to say hello, making him wonder just how many people one chair can hold.

"Hey! Hey now girls c'mon, give me a chance to move and we can say hello!" He says as he drowns under a wave of little girls.

"But daddy I missed you!" Sarah whines.

"Yeah uncle Eliot! We missed you both!" Jane echos her sister before grinning over at Quinn when she sees Eliot's shocked look.

"Oh! So I'm 'uncle' Eliot now am I? Then I guess I need to teach you what uncles are for! C'mon Quinn, you, me and the girls are going outside!" Eliot declares, getting the girls back down onto the floor and then leaning over to kiss Jayda, quietly telling her and Ruby "I'm gonna get the girls to gang up on Quinn with me and beat him in a snowball fight, give you girls a chance to talk" then getting up and putting on his boots and coat.

As they all reach the door Diwali says "I have a feeling I want to see this, is it alright if I come out and observe?"

"Sure, the more the merrier!" Eliot answers as he passes through the doorway and Diwali follows him, leaving Ruby and Jayda alone.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?" Jayda asks straight away, wanting to know why her sister hadn't confided in her about the abuse she was suffering.

"Lots of reasons, I was ashamed, scared, I... I was scared you'd take Sarah away from me..." Ruby explains before bursting into tears.

"Oh, hey baby sis, I wouldn't have done that, i'd have killed him first rather than do that, you're her mom, and I would have wanted to protect you all, not just Sarah, the only reason I would have done that was if you wouldn't let me help you, if you were protectin' him and coverin' for him because you wanted to, not because you were scared of him... that was the case right?" Jayda explains.

"I was terrified of him, I always had been, I never even wanted to marry him! But I was scared no one else would ever want me after the things he did to me, and it's not like he gave me a choice anyway" Ruby tells her.

"You could have told him no when he proposed" Jayda suggests.

"He didn't propose, he just told dad he wanted to marry me and made me agree by twisting my arm where dad couldn't see, he thought the tears in my eyes were because I thought he was going to say no, not from pain" she reveals.

"You said you thought no one would want you after the things he'd done to you, what did he do?" Jayda asks with her voice full of concern.

"He... he.. forced me to.. to... and he kept biting me to show who I 'belonged' to... by the time he told dad he wanted to marry me I was... 'well used' and he said I was so ruined no one else would ever willingly have me or want me.... and I thought he was right, right up until Quinn rescued me" Ruby says, breaking into the most radiant smile  
at the end.

"And Quinn makes you happy? He treats you and the girls right? He's not responsible for your face?" Jayda inquires.

"He's perfect! I think I finally understand how you feel about Eliot, it's like he's my soulmate! He treats me so well, he understands when I freak out for no reason, he never shouts or says anything nasty and I know he'd never raise a hand to any of us, and I can live with what he does for a living, just like I accept what you do and always have, oh yeah, I know what you do, well some of it anyway, but you're my sister, it'd never be an issue between us" she explains shyly, confirming that Jayda hadn't kept the secret of her job as well as she had always thought when Jayda looks at her with surprise at the mention of what she does "and no he's not responsible for my face, in fact if it wasn't for him it'd be a lot worse, it was one of the farm hands" Ruby finishes.

"You promise me you'll tell me and Eliot if he ever steps out of line, ok? We don't want you bein' hurt again, not even if he is our friend" Jayda demands.

"I promise, how are you after what happened?" Ruby asks.

"I'm mostly ok, the bein' a werewolf is really speedin' up the healin', I freak out occasionally but Eliot is good at dealin' with it, I don't know what i'd do without him, I'm so lucky to have him and I'm so very, very happy" Jayda answers with a smile.

"Wanna go out and stand on the porch with dad? Watch your fiancé gettin' drubbed by Eliot and the girls, you can show me the ring too!" Jayda asks brightly.

"Sure! Here's the ring!" Ruby chirps showing her ring to Jayda.

"That's gorgeous! And the stone matches your eyes, he must have had this specially made, I can't imagine that this is an off-the-peg design" Jayda says enthusiastically as they head to the door and walk outside, Jayda grabbing a blanket off the sofa along the way.

When they get outside they find their father in paroxysms of laughter, he's watching the two girls hold Quinn down by sitting on his chest and then scrubbing his face with handfuls of snow, leaving him spluttering between attacks while Eliot stands there and encourages them heartily, all happening in the light thrown by the porch lamp.

"C'mon girls time to come back in!" Ruby calls out, not wanting either girl or Quinn to end up with a cold.

"Do we have to?" Sarah calls back, obviously enjoying their game.

"Yes! I don't want your daddy getting a cold from laying in the snow, so c'mon all of you!" She insists, making 'come here' gestures at the two girls and two men who all are wearing matching looks of 'but we were having _fun_!'.

*you're an evil best friend to him you know* Jayda says to Eliot over the Bond and he just looks over at her and grins his wolf grin at her in reply.

Once Ruby and Diwali have led the girls and Eliot into the house Jayda throws the blanket around Quinn's shoulders as he comes level with her and she says "we're not anywhere _near_ even for the shower yet, _boy_!" And walks into the house, leaving him wondering just how bad a mistake he'd made bringing the prank war into Jayda's house as he follows her inside.

Once they're all in and she's closed the door Jayda turns to the room, Diwali is in an armchair, Ruby is sat on a small sofa near the fire and Eliot is in their chair again but this time with both girls on his lap holding what looks like a very deep conversation.

"Why don't you sit on the floor in front of Ruby's sofa and lean against it, let the heat of the fire dry the back of your shirt" Jayda suggests to Quinn while heading to the sofa nearest to Eliot to sit down herself.

The next hour passes with talk of the wedding, who was doing what and what help they can give to help with the setup, Eliot, Jayda and Diwali quite impressed by how much Ruby and Quinn have already got sorted.

"Well I think it's time I took Jane and put her to bed" Diwali says when he looks at Eliot and realises Jane is asleep on his lap and Sarah's not far off.

"We should head off too, you're sure it's ok for us to go dress shopping tomorrow Jay?" Ruby asks wanting to make sure she's not putting Jayda out or ruining any plans she has.

"I'm lookin' forward to it Ru" Jayda answers smiling, thinking she'll keep an eye out for a dress she likes too, hoping she might need it after she talks to Eliot about what his ring means on their anniversary.

"Ok well we'll be off, are you ok with Jane dad?" She asks her father.

"I'm fine, I'm not too old to pick up a child yet!" He says lightly as he picks up Jane from Eliot's hold on his lap.

"Ok, we'll see y'all tomorrow!" Jayda calls once everyone is outside and they all wave as they get into their trucks and drive away, finally leaving Jayda's truck alone in front of the house, just as she's closing the door she notices it's starting to snow again, worrying her just a little over their run.

"Hey El, it's startin' to snow again, will we be ok goin' runnin' in it?" She asks as he starts to rouse Sarah.

"Yeah it's fine, we have fur coats remember? But we'll stay close to the house if it'll make you feel better" Eliot offers as Sarah finally starts waking up properly.

"Is it time to run daddy?" She asks as she rubs her eyes.

"Yeah bug, c'mon and get ready to Change while mommy gets some blankets ready for us" he says, leading her over to the table to start taking her clothes off.

Seconds later Jayda brings over three blankets and puts them on the table before going to feed the fire so the house would be warm when they returned, when she's done she comes back over to a blanket-clad Sarah and Eliot, smiling down at Sarah as she takes careful hold of Eliot's burned hand and begins unbandaging it again, having a hard time pulling the last layer off where it has stuck to the raw charred flesh.

Once Eliot's hand is unbandaged he undoes the bandaging around her splint and removes it, then removes his engagement ring and lays it on the table carefully, before kissing her passionately, which has the unfortunate side effect of making him begin to rise even as she is taking her clothes off too, so the other two begin their Changes to get Eliot past that issue while she undresses.

By the time they've finished their Changes she's started hers and it's not long until she is greeting her Mate and pup enthusiastically as a wolf.

As they greet each other Wahya comes over and lays with his belly flat to the floor, whining while he watches the two Alpha-wolves, wanting to be part of their small pack, Jayda and Eliot look at each other and come to an agreement, without speaking in any way, that they would make him part of their group, their family.

Jayda sits and gets Sarah to sit next to her and Eliot pads over to the pup, who he's about five times the size of, and leans in to scent him, Wahya immediately rolls on his back showing his belly in submission and whines at Eliot, trying to show he's no threat to his place as Alpha of the group.

To show their acceptance of him Eliot leans down and rubs his muzzle against Wahya's neck, scent marking him and accepting his scent as part of his pack, making Wahya family, at this he rolls back over and enthusiastically scents Eliot over and over again before taking a tentative step in Jayda and Sarah's direction, getting a gentle growl from Eliot just to remind him that these are _his_ females and to not become interested in either of them, Wahya lowers his head in submission before slowly and carefully making his way to them and scenting each of them while Eliot opens the sliding door further so they can all get out to run.

Once the scenting is done Sarah heads straight to the door wanting to run and Wahya follows, when they're all outside and Eliot has managed to close the door, even with his burned foot, they see the two pups rolling in the snow, wrestling and nipping at each other, letting out gentle growls and yips as they play fight.

While watching them Eliot and Jayda curl up together under a tree, the only way you can tell where one wolf ends and the next one begins is by the colour of their coats, as they watch the pups play Jayda starts to lick at Eliot's burned foot over and over, cleaning it and stimulating the healing process, nibbling at small bits of burned tissue on the pads of his foot, only stopping when he yelps and snaps at her moodily because she hurt him, then going back to gently licking before moving and coming to rub and lick at his muzzle, the closest she can get to kissing him in this form.

At Eliot's yelp the two pups stop playing and come over, looking at what Jayda's doing before piling on top of the bigger wolves trying to make them part of a puppy pile, but Eliot is having none of it, he gets up and limps into the snow which has started to fall harder now in huge wet flakes that melt on his coat and nose as they hit, Jayda quickly follows, coming up beside him and rubbing her face against him repeatedly, scent marking him and comforting him because she can feel he's in pain, after a minute or so of this treatment he yips at the pups, who are still sprawled where he had been sitting, calling them over to join him and his mate.

Once their little pack are all together he starts trotting off towards the woods away from the lake, leading his family to where it'll be safer to run, first Jayda and then the pups following him, once he sees that they are following him he increases his speed from a trot to a lope, eating the distance before him quickly, but slowly leading them in a wide circle back towards the house so that he's keeping his promise to Jayda that he's keeping them close-ish to the house, pretty quickly Jayda catches up to him, playfully snapping at his tail once she's in range before coming up beside him and 'grinning' at him with her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth while she runs, a look he returns happily.

After a few minutes they know they're far enough ahead of the pups that they can slow a little, slowing back to trotting side by side, rubbing up against each other with every step, Jayda sending Eliot an image over the Bond of a pair of wolves mating along with a sense of inquiry, he turns his head to look at her, tipping his head to one side in an 'are you sure?' Gesture.

In reply she sends the image again but this time with a sense of excitement colouring her emotions, telling him 'yes it's what I want', he looks at her doubtfully but takes her seriously, sending a picture of the pups curled up together in front of the fireplace fast asleep, telling her they could once the pups had worn themselves out and were back home asleep.

Just as they agree on this and give each other nuzzles of affection they both feel a sense of panic and hear "* _DADDY_!*" Making them both turn and dash back to the pups, where they find Wahya circling around Sarah who is hanging from her back leg that is caught in a snare, whimpering and whining and occasionally trying to chew her trapped leg.

As soon as he sees this Eliot quickly Changes back into his human form, picking Sarah up straight away to take her weight off the trap, allowing it to loosen so he can slip it off while Jayda whimpers and wraps herself around his legs in panicked concern and Sarah yelps and cries out in pain.

"Ssshhhh, Sarah, it's okay, daddy's got you, you're gonna be alright, stay calm for daddy!" Eliot croons, even as he starts shivering from the below freezing temperature, putting her down safely in the snow and taking hold of her injured leg, gently examining it while talking to Jayda quietly, telling her "it's ok, she's ok, she's had her leg yanked hard so her hip and knee are goin' to hurt tomorrow and the snare loop has cut into her ankle area a little but Changin' back should heal that without a problem, she's gonna be fine..." then speaking to Sarah.

"Hey bug, do you think you can walk back to the house? We'll let you sleep with Wahya for a bit while we run a little bit more if you can make it" Eliot cajoles, trying to bribe her into trying to walk home so he doesn't have to stay in his man form and risk frostbite carrying her home.

She looks up at him, all big blue eyes, and carefully climbs to her feet, holding the injured one slightly off the ground to protect it from further damage, then she nudges Wahya and sets off in the direction of the house, limping along quickly with Wahya at her side.

Watching this Eliot quickly Changes back into his furred form and follows the pair of pups with his Mate, watching over their pack.

By the time their small group reaches the house Sarah is whimpering with every step and leaning against Wahya's side to hold herself steady, which was upsetting Jayda and worrying Eliot just a little.

As they approach the sliding doors Sarah heads around the side of the house towards the pup-door, yipping at Wahya to follow her, Eliot Changing and opening the door, saying to Jayda "wait here and we'll go... run... some more once she's settled" so Jayda sits by the open door and listens as Eliot talks to Sarah.

"Hey bug! Are you gonna Change back for me so I can look at your ankle?... hey what's wrong? You don't wanna Change back yet? You wanna snuggle with Wahya for a bit? Ok but not too long ok? Me and mommy are going to go run a bit more then we'll be back to put you to bed, you go to sleep now, love you babygirl" Eliot says, mystified when Sarah shies away from him until he realises it's that she wants to stay a wolf longer.

Moments later Eliot is outdoors again, slowly sliding the door closed before crouching down and cuddling Jayda around the neck, saying "I love you, Jayda, you still sure you want this?" he asks with his face snuggled into her ruff, which she answers with a slow nodding over his shoulder, sending the image of the wolves mating again, this time with a huge wave of sexual arousal behind it, making him gasp, because she still couldn't think in words when a wolf so she couldn't talk to him through the Bond in any other way.

"Ok, just give me a second" he says before Changing, greeting her with face rubs and muzzle licks once done before nudging her with his head to lead the way, sending a mental movie of wolves chasing each other and play fighting before the female is wrestled into the right position to be mated, telling her he wants to chase and catch her to get his wolf fully excited.

Jayda looks at Eliot with her head cocked and blinks slowly, choosing her moment before she suddenly bolts for the trees and starts the chase, Eliot hot on her heels.

It turns out that Jayda is _just_ faster than Eliot and manages to keep him at bay, chasing her until she turns down a deer path and he suddenly bursts through the underbrush and slams into her side, rolling her onto her back and trying to get his mouth around her throat, but she wriggles and turns and he can't safely get his teeth over her neck, so they roll and wrestle until finally she turns the wrong way and he has her pinned, just in the right position.

As he stands over her with a firm grip in the back of her ruff he sends the image of the wolves mating followed by a wave of enquiry, just needing to check she hasn't changed her mind again, but instantly she sends the image back with an even larger wave of sexual excitement than before, turning him on so much that his hardened cock slides out of its sheath, hanging red and dripping with precum over her tail, the scent of it turning her on even more, making her raise her ass and move her tail aside for him, begging him to take her with her scent and acquiescence.

Almost immediately he takes her up on her offer, rubbing his purpling cock against the fur over the back of her thighs before feeling wetness and thrusting forwards, missing the first time and sliding over her fur, but finding her entrance the second time and sliding into her, stopping before his knot enters her, wanting the chance to give her some pleasure before he's unable to move inside her.

So he begins thrusting into her, being so careful not to enter her with his knot, until she starts whimpering beneath him, trying to push back against him as he thrusts into her, making it hard to keep his knot free of her body, the frustration of the situation making him growl at her around the mouthful of fur and flesh he has hold of, at the sound of his growl Jayda sends him an image of his just starting to swell knot entering her as a human during his just passed rut, along with a feeling he can only interpret as 'please!?' Her begging for his knot.

So he stops holding back and does what his wolf tells him is right, instead of what his human mind thinks is right, thrusting deeply into her, getting a yip/yelp that he hopes was the equivalent of a moan, before pulling back and hammering into her quickly, his knot sliding backwards and forwards in and out of her, only swelling slowly so he has time to give her the pleasure he hopes she wants.

After a few minutes he's catching on her when he pulls back and he's worried he's hurting her so he stops thrusting and just rests inside her, but immediately she whimpers trying to move herself against him before sending the image of him thrusting into her over and over again to him, obviously telling him that she wants him to keep thrusting into her for as long as he can, so he starts again, but only manages a minute of thrusting before he's too big to pull out anymore, but still continues the motion of his hips, figuring out that the stimulation of the nerves around her entrance is what's feeling good to her.

Once he's just about fully swollen inside of her he gets a little confused about what he's meant to do next, because he's thinking with his human mind not listening to his wolf, but the moment his knot is as swollen as it will get the wolf takes over and thrusts his hips hard three times, pulling hard against her entrance and then thrusting in as deep as he can go, the third plunge into her his cock hits her cervix hard and he howls, cumming inside of her in a torrent as she whimpers beneath him, but he knows they're whimpers of pleasure, he can feel it through the Bond as he lays down on top of her, gently thrusting into her every few seconds to stimulate another spurt up into her.

As she lays with him resting over her she feels safe and loved and warm, even despite the snow and that it's late and she's a little tired, so while Eliot licks her muzzle in affection before starting to groom the back of her head she rests her chin on her front paws and decides to have a short rest (nap).

After a while Jayda comes back to full wakefulness and realises Eliot is no longer over her, she panics for a moment before she feels his tongue swipe over her entrance, by the feel of it he's only just pulled out of her and it seems he wants to clean her up before they return to the house, as his tongue swipes over her again he forces the muscle into the start of her dilated opening, making sure there is no mess going to drip out of her on the way back, she lets out a groan at the sensation and then realises she can feel her clit piercing being rubbed even though it feels deeper in her flesh than normal, she decides to ask Eliot about it once they're in bed.

A few minutes later when Eliot has finished grooming her he comes around and lays behind her, chewing gently on her ear affectionately, then slinging a forepaw over her shoulders in a wolf hug and panting down her ear.

After a while Jayda starts to feel the cold radiating up from the ground and sends Eliot an image of a steaming shower, he instantly gets up and nudges at her with his nose until she's standing too and starts to slowly lead her home, their sides rubbing together as they walk, being companionable and helping to keep each other warm.

Soon they near the house, now they've sped up to a trot as the snow is falling much harder and Eliot is worried about Jayda being cold after having just had hypothermia, when they reach the doors he looks at her and barks once, a command to stay still, before he changes and opens the sliding door for her, letting her trot inside before coming in himself, even though he's covered in water from melted snow that is instantly refreezing on his skin, making him shiver.

Once the door is closed Eliot whispers to her "you can Change now, I just didn't want you gettin' any colder" before leaning down and kissing the top of her head.

Straight away she begins her Change, wanting to be in his arms and kiss him as soon as possible, once she's stood on two feet she takes a blanket and wraps it around herself before coming up behind him where he's stood staring down at Sarah and Wahya, wrapping her arms and blanket around him at chest height.

"Hey bigbug, how you feelin'?" He asks as he takes hold of her hands that are gripping her blanket around them, Jayda noticing that he has his ring back on already.

"I'm ok, little cold and kinda tired, just want to snuggle up with you..." she replies, squeezing him tightly.

"Mmm me too, c'mere..." he says turning in her arms and taking hold of her before kissing her with a slow languid passion.

"you want some soup or stew? I know you're hungry again, and I am too, so what would you like?" He asks her when their kiss breaks, all the while holding her to himself.

"Whatever you want is fine" she answers before speaking again "why not put it on over a low-medium temperature to reheat and come have a hot shower?" She suggests, wanting to cuddle up with him while they warm up under the hot spray together, mostly because she's still freezing and she can feel he is too.

"Yeah I like the sound of that" he answers "you go start the shower I'll put the food on and be right up, okay?"

"Ok, be quick" she replies before heading up the stairs, her blanket firmly wrapped around her shoulders as she shivers.

Within two minutes Jayda has towels ready and is under the spray of the shower, she's set it to Eliot's temperature rather than her own because she doesn't want to burn him and she knows having it too hot might send her system into shock after the cold.

She quickly washes her hair knowing it's a good way to warm her head up and just after she finishes she feels a cool draft, quickly followed by Eliot's arms snaking around her waist and squeezing her gently.

"Feelin' better?" He asks, nibbling at her neck softly.

"Mmmmm... yeah, better now you're here... oh! Do that again!" She replies, begging him to nip at her neck again in a specific spot that she likes the sensitivity of.

"As you wish!" He answers, nipping at her harder on the tender spot he's found.

"Oh... oh... if you keep that up we'll be gettin' no sleep tonight at all and I have to go dress shoppin' tomorrow..." she tells him, reaching behind him and grabbing his ass, pulling him up against her own while she grinds back against his hot, hard cock.

"You should stop yourself, or I won't be responsible for what I do to you..." he answers, meaning it as a promise that he would keep her up all night, but getting an unexpected response.

"NO! STOP! DON'T!" She screams, shoving him away from her and spinning in place, her fist flying out towards his solar plexus, which he catches and uses to pull her up against his chest, holding her there in a strong hug as she screams and cries, eventually the screams stop and she's just crying, holding onto his chest, shaking.

"Jay? What happened?" He asks softly, one hand stroking her back while the other strokes her hair.

"I... I just... it sounded like you were threatenin' to... to force me and it just sent me back into what happened... I... I know you didn't... didn't mean it that way... it just sounded..." she tries to explain through her tears, hating herself for attacking him again.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, so, so, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I would never force you, I promise..." he swears to her, wracked with guilt.

"Are you warm enough?" He asks, waiting for her nod before turning the shower off and grabbing the towels, slinging one around his waist, and the other around her shoulders while she just stands there, her arms wrapped around herself and her head hanging.

Once they both have their towels around them Eliot scoops Jayda up in his arms and exits the shower carefully, slowly walking through to the bedroom and laying her on their bed.

He quickly towels himself dry and then towels Jayda's hair, before going on to dry her body, slowly and gently, quietly telling her how sorry he is, how much he loves her, how he would never do that to her, how she's always safe with him, before begging her to forgive him as she lays there in some kind of shock, but when he repeats that he hopes she can forgive him eventually she snaps out of it, grabbing his hand that was just drying her shoulder and holding it there.

"Don't you _dare_! Don't you beg for forgiveness when you've done nuthin' wrong! I attacked you, again! When you've done nuthin' to hurt me! I should be the one beggin' for forgiveness! Please, _please_ forgive me for attackin' you, I'm so, so, sorry, I didn't mean to, please let me make it up to you?" She begs, both scaring him and worrying him that she's blaming herself for what happened.

"It's not your fault, you're reactin' to the memory of the threats you were under when it happened, I know it's not me you're attackin', so see there really is nothin' for me to forgive" he tells her, leaning in and kissing her chastely on the lips, letting her know she is loved without any expectations.

"El... _please_... forgive me! I... I need you to, please!" She cries into his neck where he has enfolded her in his arms.

"But Jay, you've done nothin' wrong! How..." he starts, before she speaks over him.

"Please El, _please_!" She begs, still crying and near hysterical.

Seeing that this was something that he was not going to fix by arguing with her he capitulates and says "Jay, baby, I forgive you, I know you didn't mean to, alright?"

At this she clings onto him harder and cries, every so often just whispering "sorry... I'm so sorry... love you..."

Once her crying calms a bit he realises she's shivering, whether from cold or shock he doesn't know, but decides to get her into bed to warm up either way.

"Hey, c'mon, lets get you under the covers" he says, pulling the covers open on her side of the bed before picking her up and placing her naked form under them, pulling them across and tucking them around her snugly as she cries.

"Jay, I'm just gonna rebrace your wrist and bandage it, could you do my hand please?" He asks, quickly redoing her wrist and hand and then sitting patiently while she does his hand.

After that he picks up the towels and adds them to the laundry before going and grabbing his robe then returning to the bed where Jayda is now laying on her side, still crying softly.

"Hey, Jay? I'm just goin' to go and get our food ok? Is there anythin' else you need?" He asks her while stroking her hair.

"Just some water, I'm thirsty" she answers looking up at him through swimming eyes "you don't have to get it, I could..." she continues before he cuts her off.

"No, it's fine, I'm already ready to go down anyway, I'll just be two minutes, you sure it's water you want to drink?" He asks, making sure she's asking for what she really wants.

"Yeah it's water I need" she replies with a sad smile, nuzzling against his wrist.

"Okay, I'll just be two minutes, stay here" he says, bending down to kiss her forehead before heading out the door and down the stairs.

He's back within two minutes, carrying a tray laden with two large bowls of stew, a large stack of thick cut bread with butter and two glasses of water, he puts the tray on his side of the bed and helps Jayda to sit up, wrapping the blankets around her chest to keep her warm before handing her one of the bowls and putting her glass of water on her bedside cabinet, letting her take bread from the tray as she wants it, then sitting on the bed by her feet and picking up his own bowl of stew.

They eat in silence for a few minutes until Eliot asks her "how did you know Sarah had been hurt?"

"The same way you did, I heard her shout" she answers without thinking.

"But how could she shout? She was in wolf form?" He reminds her.

"Well, I... I don't know..." she says thoughtfully, musing it over as she eats some more.

"Did you hear her out loud or like when you hear me over the Bond?" She asks him, realising that she hadn't heard Sarah out loud.

"Like the Bond, but how is that possible? The Bond is only between a Mated couple" he replies, staring at her with confusion written all over his face.

"All I can guess is that because of her other abilities, when she's scared or in danger she can tap into our Bond, maybe because of how unique it is, and shout for help, have you felt anythin' like this from her before?" Jayda surmises.

"I'm not sure, but while you were captured she'd tell me if you were scared, sad or cold, plus you said you tasted s'mores and heard me singin', which is what was goin' on here the night of the storm, and while we were shoppin' Sarah got separated from me and Quinn and I got a wave of depression and fear just before I found her, but I didn't realise it was comin' from her, I thought it was comin' from you..." he reminds her, listing the few examples he knows of.

"So our whole little pack can speak through the Bond, ... lets not point it out to her, I don't want her to realise she can listen in, it could be embarrassin' for us all" Jayda says with a twist of her lips.

"Deal, are you finished eatin'?" Eliot asks once they have an agreement about what to do.

"Yeah I'm done" she tells him, replacing her bowl on the tray and picking up her glass to take another long drink of water, draining half the glass.

While she's downing that Eliot puts his bowl on the tray and moves it to the dressing table, deciding to leave it there until the morning, then taking off his robe and laying it over the back of the vanity chair before heading over to his own chest of drawers.

"What are you doin'?" She asks as she sees him open the top drawer and pull out some boxers.

"Just gettin' some underwear to sleep in, why?" He asks in return wondering what's wrong.

"Why are you puttin' on boxers? We're sleepin' alone tonight, we always sleep naked when we're alone!" She says brokenly, obviously on the verge of tears.

"Hey, if that's what you want I'll put them back, I just thought after earlier you might be more comfortable if I wasn't naked is all, I'm sorry I got it wrong" he says, dropping the shorts back into the drawer and heading back to the bed where she's curled up into a little ball right on the edge of her side of the bed.

"Are we ok?" He asks as he slowly slips into his side of the bed before turning off the headboard lamp and just letting the little moonlight there is illuminate the room, turning to her and slowly pulling her towards him until she's in the middle of the bed and he has his arms around her, pressed up snugly against her back.

"I'm sorry, I was tryin' to make you more comfortable, not upset you, forgive me?" He asks quietly, nuzzling into her neck and hugging her tighter.

"There's nuthin' to forgive, you were trying to save me from havin' to ask you to put some on, I understand" she tells him snuggling back into his arms, not wanting to fight with him when she can be held and loved instead.

"Are we just goin' to leave Sarah with Wahya overnight?" She asks him, not totally sure it's okay for her to stay in wolf form to sleep for so long.

"Yeah she's fine, she'll either turn back in her sleep or when she wakes up, she'll be warm enough with Wahya cuddled up next to her and in front of the fire, it's ok" he reassures her snuggling into her tighter.

"Jay?" He says, sounding quiet and a little unsure "when we were wolves, and we... mated.... did it feel good to you too?" He goes on to ask.

"Oh El! Of course it was good for me too! Didn't you feel it over the Bond?" She answers, taking hold of his arms around her and squeezing, reassuring him.

"I kinda was so overwhelmed by how you felt to me it was hard to tell, sorry" he replies burying his face in her hair.

"Well yes it was great, but there was somethin' I wanted to ask you, she-wolves don't have clits right? So where did my piercin' go? Because when you licked into me afterwards I could feel it just inside and it felt wonderful, really deep stimulation, and I just wondered if you'd been able to see anythin'?" She asks him.

"Well I couldn't see it but I could feel it against the back of my knot when I was inside you, like it was just inside your openin', pressin' right in the best place, so I guess your clit moves inside you when you're a wolf, as do your inner lips leavin' those piercings inside you, one to each side, it felt amazin', although I have no idea about your nipple piercin'" he tells her honestly.

"So everythin' was good for us both and my piercin's do interestin' travels, fair enough" she says, hugging his arms tighter for a moment as she yawns.

"Ready to go to sleep?" He asks, getting an affirmative noise in answer as she snuggles back into him more.

"Love you, Eliot" she tells him, bending her head forward and kissing one of his hands.

"Love you too, Jayda" he replies, kissing the back of her neck and shoulder a few times before snuggling in with his forehead against the nape of her neck.

Both of them lay thinking about what has happened over the evening for a while before eventually dropping off to sleep.


	37. new experiences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quinn and Ruby have a night to themselves to explore their relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it’s been a while and I’m sorry, I had some nails done and they’re really long and make it almost impossible to use my iPad so I couldn’t really write much or upload anything, so I’m sorry, on the plus I’m gonna give y'all this chapter tonight and the next tomorrow (or that’s the plan anyway) to make up for it.
> 
> I’m writing chapter forty three at the moment and we’re nearly done there’s three days left for me to write and then this instalment will be finished, to be followed by the already started one night in Moscow.
> 
> I hope y'all are going to keep sticking with me even though I’m crap when it comes to an upload schedule, I love each and every one of my dedicated readers, yes I mean YOU!
> 
> Enjoy Darlin's.

QUINN/RUBY

Quinn and Ruby drive home in a comfortable silence holding hands, both thinking about the wedding and their family and how glad they are that Diwali, Jayda and Eliot are all being part of both and their lives.

As they pull into the driveway Ruby says to Quinn "Sean, you are happy here right?" Making him turn to look at her once he's parked the truck.

"How can you ask that? Of course I'm happy, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me if I wasn't, in fact this is the happiest I've ever been in my life! What's brought this on?" He asks pulling her to him and hugging her tightly.

"I... I just wanted to be sure, didn't want you to feel forced or obligated, I talked to Jay about how I ended up married to _him_ and it just made me think, as much as I love you if you were unhappy i'd let you leave to make you happy, you know that right?" She explains.

"I wouldn't stay just because I was obligated to and you couldn't force me to stay if I didn't want to, and yes I know you love me enough to let me go if it was what I wanted, I love you that much too, but I hope I never have to follow through on that promise" he replies before giving her a rueful smile.

"C'mon lets go have a shower and go to bed, alright?" He adds, getting out of the truck and coming around to open her door for her while she undoes her seatbelt.

"Thank you Sir Quinn" she says as he lifts her down rather than letting her slide out of the cab.

"You're welcome m'lady" he answers giving a flourishing bow, making her giggle and link her arm through his once he's standing again and leading him towards the house.

"I have something for you when we get inside" she tells him cryptically, Quinn choosing to infer something dirty from the comment.

"I have something for you too, m'lady" he tells her with a leer and a quick rub of himself.

"Not like that, you dirty little boy!" She tells him, failing to hold in her smile and laughter at him.

"Aaawwww, but I wanna!" He whines out as he unlocks the door with the key on the truck keyring and opens it for her, closing it and locking it behind them before they climb the stairs in the dark and enter their bedroom.

"So c'mon what do you have for me?" He asks as he sits on the bed to untie his boots.

"This..." she replies, going into her underwear drawer and digging to the bottom and pulling out a small leather pouch, bringing it to Quinn and handing it to him, smiling nervously.

"What?..." he says after opening the pouch and tipping the contents out into his hand, the item being a grey metal keyring made in the shape of a chunky capital Q with two keys and a carabiner attached.

"They're keys for the house, the keyring is made from melted down horseshoe nails, I felt it was fitting, the place being a horse farm and all... I wanted to make this your home, I hope this does that..." she explains, leaving him staring at her with huge green eyes and his mouth hanging open a little.

When he doesn't say anything Ruby starts to backtrack "oh, I got it wrong didn't I? You think this is stupid... I should have just..." she says before she's cut off by his lips on hers as he kisses her with so much passion it steals the breath from her lungs.

"Don't you Dare! This is the most precious, thoughtful gift I've ever been given, and i'd _never_ think you or anything you did was stupid, thank you, Ruby, I love how thoughtful a gift this is, although I have to say you've already made me feel like this is home, the only other time I felt like I was at home like I do here was with Iain but that took years to build, this was home from the moment you kissed me" he tells her passionately when their kiss ends before bending down and kissing her again, holding her tightly against himself.

Within minutes his hands have wandered until he's pulling her sweater up her ribs and over her breasts, then he gently breaks the kiss to pull the sweater off over her head and drops it on the floor, before instantly returning to her lips.

"Sean..." she moans out between kisses as he undoes her jeans and she starts to unbutton his shirt, quickly undoing all the buttons and pulling it out of his jeans, before undoing his fly and pushing his jeans off his hips leaving them to drop to the floor.

"Ru... bed or shower first?" He asks, wanting her, but willing to do things the way she wants.

"Shower first? Clean up and warm up under the water together and then slide into bed to cuddle and see what pops up?" She says with a little smirk, quirking her eyebrows at him.

"Sweetheart it's already up for you, believe me!" He answers, smirking in return before kissing her and pushing her jeans down her thighs until she can step out of them, then removing his shirt and picking her up, her legs wrapping around his waist, all without breaking the kiss.

He quickly walks them into the bathroom and sets her down onto the counter before dragging his lips away from hers to say "panties off, I'm just gonna turn the shower on" as he drops his boxer shorts and sticks his upper body into the shower.

She immediately works her panties down under her ass and down her legs, letting them hang from her toes until he turns towards her again, then letting them drop once he's paying attention, to which he replies by rubbing his hot, hard cock as he leans back against the frame of the shower, watching her and making an encouraging move with his head.

Feeling unsure but daring Ruby slowly opens her legs for him, letting him look at her most sensitive places as she tentatively slides her hand down her stomach, skipping past her stitched mound and heading straight to her already hard clit, standing out between her lips and oh so sensitive, slowly stroking her fingertip along the length of it, making her sigh, before rubbing either side of it at the same time with two fingers, pulling the hood back and using her middle finger to stroke the head making her moan loudly.

As much as Quinn is loving this show he can't wait any longer being teased like this, so he darts forwards and kisses her hard, his hand coming up between her legs and sliding two fingers into her.

"Oh! Sean yes...." she cries as he breaches her, feeling him rubbing her g-spot as his thumb strokes the length of her clit, unfortunately when he tries to push his fingers in further he finds her too tight, so he returns to stroking her g-spot again.

"Why did you stop pushing into me?" She asks him, liking what he's doing but wondering why he stopped trying to enter her further.

"You're still too tight right now sweetheart, just give it a little longer..." he tells her before pulling his fingers free and kissing her again, still with just as much passion, if a little gentler.

"Why won't this stop _happening_!?!" She begs to know when the kiss ends, sounding tearful and defeated.

"Darling Ruby, you've spent over ten years being abused physically and sexually, its gonna take time for your body and your subconscious to recover and feel safe after that, it can't be helped, and I know it's frustrating, it frustrates me too when I want to make you feel good and loved, but it'll be worth the wait when you're over it, I _promise_ , and in the meantime you can be sure there are plenty of other ways I can make you feel good and feel loved, and I'm happy to wait until you're ready for me" he tells her, trying to reassure her that he's not going to leave because of this or hurt her trying to force her.

"But what about _you_? What about pleasuring _you_ and making _you_ feel loved?" She asks, more worried about his pleasure than her own.

"Ruby, you already make me feel plenty loved, every time you touch me or kiss me or look me in the eyes I feel loved, as for pleasuring me there are plenty of ways to do that other than typical sex, there's oral, using your hands or breasts, anal sex or intercrural sex, that's you clenching your legs tight together and me using the small gap at the top where they meet your pussy as if it _was_ your pussy, it's messy but nice and that one would rub your clit good too, giving you pleasure and failing all that there's still jacking off" he tells her, making her realise her view of sex was very limited.

"But I don't know how to do most of those things!" She tells him, getting frustrated and tearful again.

"Well how about we learn what works well for us starting tonight?" He offers, noticing she's starting to shiver where she's sat.

"Ok, i'd like that..." she replies before giving a bigger shiver "but can we go in the shower now?" She adds.

"Of course, c'mon" he says lifting her down and leading her into the shower where he wraps his arms around her and kisses her lingeringly, trying to show her as much love and devotion as he can before pulling back and saying "I love you Ruby, more than anything else I've ever known" and then diving into the kiss again, lifting her up until her toes no longer touch the floor he hugs her so tight.

"I love you too, Sean, more than anyone except the girls..." she says when they break for air, feeling guilty she can't say she loves him more than anything, even if she does love him just as strongly as she does the girls.

As they kiss again Quinn brings his hand up to her folds again, manoeuvring between her legs and her lips, sliding his fingers into her again, just gently sliding them over her g-spot and rubbing and massaging her inner walls while she brings her leg up and wraps it around his hip firmly to keep herself steady.

"Sean... what?...ah!" She cries out in pleasure as he manages to rub her _just right_ , starting her on the path to an orgasm.

"What would you like to try tonight? We'll start as if normal sex isn't an option and if it's possible later then we'll see, but for now what do you wanna try?" He asks her as he continues to rub her sweet spot.

"I.. I.. I don't know... what would you like? I don't know where to start, so what do you like best?" She answers unsurely.

"I like everything, but i'd say either oral or maybe mutual oral or we could try anal, when it's done right it can feel really good, for women as well as men" he tells her, rubbing her clit with his thumb as he kisses her deeply again.

"Ahhh! Yes! Which are you in the mood for?" She cries out as he pinches her clit and strokes its length.

"I've got to admit i'd love to have your ass, if you're agreeable, I promise to be gentle and take my time, make sure you're feeling good, you know I never want to hurt you" he whispers into her ear between nibbles and kisses as he pulls his fingers free and grips her knee by his hip as he rubs his hardness against her lower belly.

"Ok, we can try that... do you have everything you need?" She asks him before kissing him passionately but tentatively.

"Yeah I got everything when I was shopping, c'mere let me wash you..." he reassures her before gently starting to wash her body slowly and sensuously.

A few minutes later, after they've both washed each other and spent time holding each other and kissing, they emerge from the shower, wrapping each other in warm, fluffy towels and drying each other off in between kisses and touches, once they're both dry they move into the bedroom, getting into the silk sheeted bed and holding each other tenderly as they kiss.

"You put the silk sheets on! Do you like them?" Ruby asks when she realises he's put on the silk set while she was asleep.

"Yeah, I thought they'd be nice for us since we'd be alone tonight, I've always loved the feel of silk against my skin, do you like them?" He asks in return as he leans forwards and kisses her.

"Yeah, they feel different to what I expected, but I like it" she replies between kisses.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Quinn asks quietly as he strokes her face.

"No... I'm scared it's gonna hurt.. jar.. _he_ used to do that to me and it always hurt so much and for so long... I know you don't wanna hurt me but I can't help being afraid..." she confesses.

"Well I'm not gonna hurt you, the minute anything doesn't feel good or it starts to be uncomfortable I want you to tell me, I'll never forgive myself if you don't, but first I'm gonna give you a massage to help you relax, so come lay here on your front" he reassures her, backing away across the bed to make room for her to lay as he asks.

Once she's laid face down in the middle of the bed he opens his bedside drawer and takes out some massage gel/lube and comes to kneel over her hips, then taking some of the gel in his hands he rubs them together to warm it up.

Once it is warm and melted he brings his hands to her shoulders rubbing along them and up her neck before continuing down her spine and onto her ribs, now that he has the gel spread everywhere he starts massaging her, beginning at the neck and working down her body until he reaches her feet, leaving not a single muscle untouched, she's limp and relaxed and moaning every so often when he eases a bad knot, as he works his way back up her thighs he can't help but rub his overheated erection over her calf muscles, he's stayed hard throughout the massage and he's so oversensitive it's unbearable, he needs some friction, any friction.

As he reaches her ass cheeks he uses his thumbs to massage the area where her legs meet her ass on either side of her crack, being gentle but firm, then he finally speaks after staying silent for the hour he's been massaging her.

"Are you ready for me to touch you there?" He asks, his voice much more gravelly than normal.

"Yes, touch me!" She answers, feeling so relaxed and aroused it's drowned her fear of what happened to her at Jared's hands.

"Ok" he answers before leaning forward and kissing her tailbone softly, eliciting a gasp from Ruby.

Then as he sits back up he uses his thumbs to separate her cheeks, gently brushing over her hole with each of them in turn, admiring her small pink pucker, looking like a tiny flower ready to open for him, making her squirm a little as she feels his gaze on her most private of places.

He reaches out and grabs the bottle of lube that has been resting against her hip during her massage, pouring more over his hand and then rubbing it over the three middle fingers of his left hand and his thumb, which he then uses to start rubbing over her opening, massaging it and pressing against it gently, not trying to breach her, just stretch the muscle slightly, as he continues on like this he uses his right hand to massage her lower back more, helping to relax the muscles in that area.

Once the muscles of her hole start to relax he starts to pull at her opening, pressing his thumb against the inner edge of the muscle and pressing outwards stretching it further until he can feel how relaxed her opening is, then leaning forward over her until he's laid along her back, his hardon pressed against her asscrack and says "I'm gonna start opening you up, are you ok with that?" Before kissing her cheek softly.

"I'm ready, I love you" she answers, feeling him rub the length of his swollen cock over her asshole.

"I love you too, baby" he tells her before sitting back up and pressing the tip of his index finger against her hole gently, feeling the muscles twitch then relax in response.

Once the muscles relax again he rubs in circles a few times before pressing gently against her slick hole, surprised when his fingertip slips into her easily, making him smile gently as he pushes his finger in deeper until he reaches the second knuckle then sliding it back again, adding a little more lube before sliding it back in again, all the way to the base and setting up a gentle rhythm.

After a few moments of gliding thrusts and gentle probing Ruby cries out quietly.

"Ah! Sean, what was that?" She mewls, having no idea what sent the jolt of pleasure through her genitals and clit.

"That's the equivalent of a prostate in women, it feel good?" He asks, hoping she likes it.

"Yes! So good!" She cries out as he rubs her there again and he pushes a second finger into her.

"Good!" He purrs in reply, adding more lube to his fingers again before setting up a thrusting rhythm with both fingers that soon changes to stretching and opening manoeuvres, rubbing that sensitive spot all the time, within minutes he's sliding his third finger into her, making her squeak unexpectedly.

"Ru? You ok?" He asks in concern, pausing his hand's movements in case he's hurting her.

"Just pinched a bit, I'm ok now!" She tells him, her smile and arousal colouring her voice vividly.

So he continues, but slowly and gently for a few minutes before building up speed and force until he feels she's ready, then shuffling forwards on his knees until his cockhead is up against her asshole.

"Hey, you ready? He asks, stroking her spine gently.

"Yes! Want you Sean!" She tells him, reaching back for his hip.

At her confirmation he tilts his hips forwards and slowly presses his lubricated cock against her dilated opening, slowly spreading her further open until he feels his head pop through her ring of muscle into her tight channel.

"Ah! Wait wait wait! It's... weird feeling, just give me a minute to get used to it, please?" She begs clutching at the silk sheet underneath her.

"Ok, it's ok, so long as I'm not hurting you, I'll wait until you're ready" he soothes her, leaning down over her until his chest is pressed against her back and he can kiss her neck and shoulders lovingly.

As he waits he caresses her arms and back, stroking over her soft skin as her hole tightens around him in a regular rhythm while her body adjusts to this new sensation.

"Ok, you can carry on" she tells him, raising her ass a little so that he slips a little deeper into her.

"Ooohhhh..." he groans out raspily "my Ruby, so _fucking_ perfect... never felt anything so good... wanna keep you forever..." he tells her as he presses into her, slowly sliding in as he praises her and kisses her neck and ear, making all her body hair stand up in response.

"Oh! Sean!" She cries out as he bottoms out, grinding against her ass before pulling back just a little and giving a first gentle thrust into her to see her reaction.

In response she lifts her hips again, sliding herself along his cock a little to encourage his movements, still feeling a little weird and uncomfortable but enjoying it nonetheless.

At this encouragement Quinn pulls back further before giving a full thrust into her, getting an "ah!" In response, and they've been together enough now that he knows from the tone and inflection that it's a sound of pleasure, meaning he can carry on, and so he thrusts further into her in a steady yet gentle rhythm, slowly building speed and length of thrusts until he's giving long rolling thrusts against her ass.

"Ooohh Sean... feels good..." she mewls out, loving the feel of him pressing against the bundle of nerves that were giving her pleasure, a place he seems to hit with every thrust.

"Yeah? You like this?" He asks her, the smile in his voice making it feel even better to her, knowing she's pleasing him by being pleasured.

"Oh! Yes!" She replies, lifting her ass so much she was practically on her knees, trying to thrust back onto him, so he grabs her hips and pulls her up onto her knees properly, allowing him to use faster, deeper thrusts and for her to be able to move however she likes.

As his thrusts get harder and faster she starts to cry out at the height of each thrust letting out an "ah!" Every time he bottoms out, he knows that she's enjoying herself because he knows her sounds of pleasure, he also knows that she's drawing close to an orgasm by the way she tightens down on him with every cry.

"Ruby, so sexy for me, always loving my cock in you, want to never leave..." he tells her, kissing and nipping her neck, shoulders and spine.

"Oh, Sean! I'm... I'm gonna...aahahhhh!" She shouts, cumming against his balls and tightening painfully down on his cock, making him want to let loose, but he's not finished with her yet.

"Ruby! Ah! ah! Oh god Ruby!" He growls, wrapping his arms around her chest and holding her tight before asking her "do you feel relaxed?"

"Well... yes... as relaxed as anyone can feel with a dick up... mmrmmh!" She answers before he puts his hand over her mouth to stop her finishing her thought.

"Ok well lets see how relaxed you are..." he whispers into her neck before moving his hand from her mouth to her folds, using his fingertips to rub along her clit a few times making her twitch and squeak, before moving them back to her entrance and dipping them inside, feeling his own fingers entering her against the side of his dick, just a thin wall of muscle between them.

As his fingers slide deeper into her his palm rubs her clit, stroking the length of it while he thrusts his fingers into her, finding her relaxed and ready for him, he asks her "do you want me to stay where I am or would you rather I changed places?"

"Mmmm, oh Sean!, I don't know... you decide..." she moans out, reaching back and grabbing his hip firmly as she thrusts back onto him.

"Oh! Aahhh! Ruby! Wait... wait for a second... I'm gonna pull out but I want you to stay right where you are ok?" He asks, hoping she's not gonna ask what he's gonna be doing.

"Ok, don't be long..." she begs, wanting him back with her as soon as possible.

He quickly pulls out of her and leans so he can reach into his bedside drawer again, this time pulling out a pack of wet wipes and using one to clean himself so as not to cause an infection, before wadding the wipe up and throwing it into the bedside trash then coming back to kneeling behind her, rubbing his hard cock between her cheeks and then along her folds as if he can't make up his mind where he wants to be.

Eventually he stops teasing her and slides into her pussy, a long, smooth glide with no problem entering her at all until he's as deep into her as he can get.

"Oh Sean YES!" She shouts out feeling him fill her, finally getting the feeling that has quickly become addictive to her of him as close to her as he can be.

"Oh Sean, please... please..." she sobs as he starts thrusting into her, bringing him to a screeching halt thinking he's hurting her.

"What? What's wrong? Ruby?" He asks leaning over her and wrapping his arm around her stomach reassuringly.

"You haven't hurt me... don't worry... just please keep going... please, I wan.. I wis... just please!" She tells him still sobbing.

"Please sweetheart, tell me what's wrong, I can't carry on until I know what's wrong..." he begs her, worried that if he's not hurt her then there might be something else wrong, like the position they're in or that he swapped things around.

"I just... I need you to carry on, I need us both to enjoy this... it's all we can have together..." she tells him, starting to thrust herself along his cock gently.

"What do you mean it's all we can have together? What does that mean?" He asks mystified.

"Each other is all we'll ever have together, because we can't have kids..." she tells him before bursting into full fledged sobs and crying, her back shaking with the force of her cries.

"Oh Ruby, no!" He exclaims as he pulls out of her and pulls her down onto the bed while he holds her tight.

"What's brought this up? I always knew we couldn't have our own children, why are you suddenly so upset about it?" He asks quietly while she cries into his chest.

"Because I... never... never _needed_ kids of my own before! I love my girls but I was always glad Jared would have no real claim to them because they weren't his, but with you I know any child we had would be safe and loved and I want to have your child, I want to give birth to your child and make you a real father, and I CAN'T!" She explains crying harder at the end as he pulls her tighter to his chest.

"Ssshhh, hush, it's ok Ruby, you've already made me a real father, Tazzie proved that to me today, and yes as much as I wish we could have a child together it doesn't change how I feel about you that we can't, I would love to see you grow with our child, feel it move inside of you, be there when it's born, but that's beyond our reach, I still love you the same and still think you're perfect just the way you are ok?" He tells her, allowing her to hear the pain he feels in his voice even while he tells her it doesn't matter to him because only she does.

After some time of holding Ruby and rocking her in his arms to calm her, she calms to watery snuffles and eventually the tight grip she has on him loosens as she falls into an exhausted sleep in his arms, and while he lays holding her against his chest and he leans down to kiss her he whispers "I'm sorry but I didn't want to get your hopes up, we'll find a way, I have the money, I just need to talk to Jay" after his confession he pulls the blanket over them both and slowly falls into sleep himself.


	38. silk and snares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda and Ruby go wedding dress hunting, Eliot and Quinn go trap hunting and Quinn asks a favour of Jayda before Eliot and Jayda have some private time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here’s the second chapter I promised y'all, I hope you like it.
> 
> I have drawings of the designs for the dresses in question plus both engagement rings and a plan of Jayda’s house so if someone can tell me how to add them to my story I’ll add them so you can all see what I’m talking about.
> 
> Enjoy Darlin's

ELIOT/JAYDA

Eliot wakes up to the feeling of his legs trapped under something and for a moment his mind tells him one of the big trees has fallen and trapped him and Jayda under a collapsed roof but then he realises how hot it is under the duvet and that the 'tree' seems to be breathing, his eyes shoot open on this fact and he's greeted by Sarah's puppy face breathing onto his.

"Ugh! Bug your breath stinks, did you eat a skunk or sumthin'?" He asks her raspily even as he pulls her up onto his chest to hug her, quickly followed by Wahya clambering over her to get his hugs too.

"Ok the two of you, this is not your place, go downstairs, Carefully! And wait down there, and don't think about invadin' like this again!" He tells the two pups sending them downstairs so he can wake Jayda and have sleepy morning cuddles.

"Mmmm, did you forget to close the bedroom door last night?" She says as soon as the pups have gone and Eliot's cuddling into her back again before he even gets the chance to wake her.

"No, I'm sure I closed it,... I think..." he says snuggling into her and rubbing his morning erection against her ass.

"Are you hintin' about somethin' back there darlin'?" She asks, rubbing her ass back against him.

"Just enjoyin' your soft skin against me is all, unless you can suggest somethin' else you'd like?" He replies snuggling and grinding against her even more.

"Well, dependin' on how long you think we've got until Sarah comes lookin' for us again, I could think of a few things" she says, turning in his arms and hugging him back.

"Mmm, always such a tease to me..." he mumbles as he leans in to kiss her, making her pull away from him and slide back across the bed out of his hold.

"Well if I'm such a tease..." she says lifting the duvet as if to get up.

"C'mere woman! You know havin' you close to me is a constant tease, it's why I'm always rarin' to go when you wrap yourself around me!" He says pulling her back into the bed and his arms before kissing her then nuzzling into her neck while he holds her tightly.

"Oh, rrriiigggghhhhttt! It's MY fault you're always horny, it's got nuthin' to do with _you_ , right?" She comments sarcastically, rolling her eyes, but giving in and giving him a kiss too, allowing him to lick into her mouth gently as he rolls her onto her back.

"Oh Eliot!..." she sighs into his ear when their lips part, as his finger comes to rest against her folds, slowly and gently rubbing backwards and forwards over the seam of her lips before pushing between them and just lightly stroking over her clit as he kisses her more deeply again.

He just pulls back from kissing her and opens his mouth to speak when they both hear Sarah shout "DADDY? ARE YOU GONNA BE LONG? MY LEG HURTS AND I'M HUNGRY!"

"Every. Damn. Time." He says resting his forehead against hers before shouting back "two minutes bug, I'm on my way!" Then sighing deeply, he kisses Jayda's smirk and tells her "I don't know what you're smirkin' at, you're missin' out too" before getting out of the bed and going to grab underwear so he can get dressed.

"You could always feed Sarah and then come back to bed..." she suggests, making it obvious that she's touching herself under the blankets.

"Gggrrrr, you tryin' to get me to burn myself again? because I won't be able to concentrate on cookin' knowin' you're doin' this!" He says, grabbing her hand through the blankets and pulling it away from where she had it stroking over herself.

"Get dressed, you're gettin' up too, you have to go dress shoppin' remember?" He growls at her in the Alpha voice, her head immediately tipping to one side in submission.

"Yes Alpha!" She whines out gently, making him let go of her wrist and take hold of her chin, turning her face towards him and frowning down at her.

"You don't need to whimper or whine, let alone bare your neck to me, you're not in trouble, I'm just makin' sure you do as you're told,... I love you" he tells her before pulling her in for a slow, loving kiss, then adding "now c'mon, get up"

"Yes Alpha, I love you too" she says throwing the covers back and climbing off the bed, then quickly making it up before going to find clothes to put on, successfully distracting him from getting dressed himself until she picks some panties out and disappears into the bathroom, kissing him on her way past him, once her naked ass is out of view he shakes himself and finishes getting dressed before using the small bathroom quickly and then heading down the stairs.

"Hey bug! Hey Wahya, how you guys doin'?" He says as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, finding Sarah curled up in the snuggle armchair wrapped in a blanket with Wahya beside her.

"Wahya down! No sittin' on the furniture until Jayda says it's ok!" He tells the young wolf before Sarah answers.

"Daddy my ankle really hurts! And I told Wahya it was ok for him to sit with me, when he cuddles into me I feel better, is it because he's Pack with us now?" She asks looking confused.

"Yes that's probably why he helps you feel better, now show me your hurt foot ok?" He answers taking gentle hold of her foot and lower leg when she sticks her leg out from under the blanket, turning it this way and that to examine the red cut around her ankle area, his frown getting deeper with every moment because it should have healed by now.

"I'm sorry daddy, I din't mean to get caught in a trap!" She whispers, trying to fight against the tears that have sprung to her eyes at seeing her daddy angry over something she's done, again!

"No! Bug! C'mere!" He says, pulling her onto his lap and cuddling her with a horrified expression on his face "I'm sorry bug, you din't do anythin' wrong, you couldn't have known there was a trap there, it's not your fault!" He tells her trying to reassure her.

"Then why are you mad?" She asks quietly.

"Because someone set out a trap that hurt our little bug and I'm angry that anyone would want to hurt one of my pack, let alone my little girl, and I'm mad at myself that I din't do a better job of protectin' you..." he explains, pulling her tighter against his chest and hugging her hard.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Jayda asks coming to sit next to Eliot and Sarah while scratching Wahya behind the ears to calm his nervous fidgeting caused by smelling the distress in his Alpha's scent and his adopted littermate's.

"Nuthin' we're just talkin' about what happened last night, the trap and all" Eliot replies before pointing to the inflamed cut around Sarah's ankle, Jayda recognising what he's telling her straight away.

"How bad does your leg hurt bug?" She asks her daughter, stroking her hair since she's still sat on Eliot's lap.

"My hip really, really hurts and my knee feels all twisted up, but my ankle burns, like being bitten or stung, or a silver burn" She answers after a moment's thought.

"Ok, well while daddy starts cookin' I'll get you sumthin' to make your leg stop hurtin', alright? Jayda tells her.

"Alright mommy, thank you" she says before curling up in the chair again when Eliot places her back on the seat as he stands up.

As they walk across to the kitchen he asks "do you have sumthin' suitable for a child to take?" Not wanting to risk overdosing Sarah.

"What kind of idiot do you take me for? When Sarah broke her arm _he_ wouldn't let my dad prescribe any painkillers, sayin' she din't need them, so dad gave me some so I could slip them to her without him knowin', I still have some, so that's what I'll be givin' her" she explains a little coldly.

"When Jared broke her arm..." he corrects her unthinkingly.

"WHAT!?! What are you talkin' about?" She demands to know.

"It was Jared who broke her arm, she told me while we were shoppin', he also burned her with cigarettes every night, it was because she'd gotten lost while shoppin' with him, he also told her that next time no one would bother comin' lookin' for her because no one really wanted her around anyway" he reveals looking nauseous.

"I wanna kill that son of a bitch! You should have let me kill him, or at least let me watch!" She hisses at him venomously, but it's obvious her hatred is aimed at Jared not Eliot.

"I'm sorry, if that had been an option I would have done it that way..." he tells her, wrapping her in his arms even though at first she struggles against him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound nasty towards you" she apologises, hugging him back tightly once she calms down after a few minutes.

"I know, I understand who the hatred is aimed at" he says before kissing her slowly and adding "you sort out pain relief and I'll sort out food ok?"

"Ok, I love you" she answers, kissing his cheek and heading for her medicine chest on one of the bookcases while he goes to the fridge.

Once she's pulled out the pills her dad had prescribed she turns back towards where Sarah is sat and notices that Eliot has put out a glass of fruit juice for Sarah to take the pills with.

"Thanks Eliot, I was just about to ask you for a glass of water but this is better" she says detouring into the kitchen to give him a kiss and ask very quietly "that trap was coated in silver wasn't it? That's why it hasn't healed and is still hurtin' her?"

"Yes that's right, I'm gonna get Quinn to send Bruce or Caleb over and we'll go get it and have a look to see if we can find anymore, I've gotta find out who's doin' this!" Eliot replies, growling by the end.

"Why do you need to find out who's doin' it, surely it's the Elders Council's job to do that?" She asks, never having known it to be any other way in her lifetime.

"Because _I'm_ the True Alpha, it's what I'm _for_ , to protect my Pack, the tribe and its pack, our lands and our heritage, and I'm already failin' at the last one, badly!" He tells her making it evident how much it all was bothering him.

"Will you leave Sarah here while you go out?" She asks, only a little worried.

"It depends, does she have a sled? Sumthin' I could pull her along on? I don't think carryin' her that long would be feasible" he answers making her think.

"Yeah there's a sled in the basement, she knows where it is, she'll tell you when you're ready to get it" she tells him, making him glad he won't have to leave her alone.

"Mommy? My leg really hurts, I'm sorry but can I have my pills now?" Sarah asks, sounding a little afraid she's going to be in trouble for interrupting.

"Of course bug! I'm just comin' now!" Jayda answers, kissing Eliot's cheek before grabbing the glass of juice and heading to Sarah, handing her the two pills and then the glass once she's put them in her mouth.

After she's swallowed them Sarah pulls a face and says "I hate takin' pills!" Sounding just like Jayda did at her age, making Eliot snort in amusement from his place in the kitchen.

"That's enough from you, _puppy_! I remember you sayin' the exact same thing when you were barely older than her!" Jayda tells him smirking, while his smile turns into a frown at the sound of Sarah laughing at his old nickname.

While Eliot makes breakfast Jayda gets some supplies from her first aid kit and salves and bandages Sarah's foot and ankle, protecting it from infection and hoping it might make it feel a little better, she's just got the last bit of bandaging left to do when Eliot speaks from right above her.

"Breakfasts ready, where you sittin' to eat?" He asks as he hands a plate to Sarah.

"Just next to you is fine" she answers tying the bandage firmly and then standing back up, turning to see Eliot just sitting down on the couch behind her, holding two plates.

"Here you go!" He says as he hands her one of the plates when she sits down.

"Ooohhhh omelette, you still remember!" She exclaims, surprised that he still remembers what she likes for breakfast on cold, busy days.

"Of course I remember, you would have me make them as often as possible when we were teenagers, although I think I make them better now..." he tells her, smiling softly at the memory.

After five minutes of silence while the three of them eat Sarah says to Eliot "daddy can I go look after flame today?"

"Not today bug, not with your foot injured and mommy takin' the truck, and anyway I need your help, we're goin' to go find that trap and take it down as well as look for any more" he explains, hating to see her disappointed but unable to avoid it this time.

"Ok, I wanna help make sure no one else gets hurt" she says fighting to not show her parents her upset.

"You're a good, brave girl, bug, we're so lucky to have you" Jayda tells her, coming over and stroking her hair before taking her empty plate off her, adding it to her own and taking them to the kitchen.

"Thank you mommy, you and daddy are the best mommy and daddy there are!" She replies, making Jayda pause over the sink and put her hand over her mouth to stop herself sobbing out loud, Eliot realising what's happening and using the excuse of taking his plate to the sink comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, murmuring in her ear.

"Darlin' you're the best mother any child could ever wish for, be happy she loves you as much as you love her" he tells her, squeezing her tight and nuzzling under her ear to comfort her.

After a few moments to compose herself she turns in his arms and snakes hers around his neck, pulling him down to give him a tender, loving kiss to say thank you while speaking through the Bond.

*and you're the excellent father I always knew you would be, I'm sorry you never got the chance to be with her until now* she tells him, him looking down softly at her when the kiss breaks.

"Do you think I should get her to shower before gettin' dressed?" He asks her quietly.

"No, I've just sorted her ankle out and the salve needs time to work, make sure there's no silver flakes in there" she answers before asking "do you want me to dress her?"

"No, you haven't got time, you need to move to get to Ruby's in time to pick her up" he tells her, kissing her again before saying "you have fun, and don't let her talk you into some hideous bridesmaid dress okay? Make sure it makes you look _stunnin_ ', after all, I'm expected to take the head bridesmaid home and sleep with her as best man..."

"You, Spencer are walkin' a very fine line..." she growls at him, pulling him down for a harsher more dominance filled kiss "be good and I might spank you tonight for it, I love you" pecking him one last time and letting go of him, going to pick up the keys to the truck and say goodbye to Sarah.

"You be good for daddy ok littlebug? Do as you're asked and don't argue back, I love you, Sarah" she says before leaning down and kissing Sarah's head then heading to grab her coat and walk out onto the porch.

JAYDA/RUBY

Once Jayda has picked up Ruby and they've parked near the formal/wedding dress shop she turns to Ruby and asks "are you gonna tell me what happened to your face or not?" Referring to the huge black bruise which has now blackened her eye as well as her cheek and the corner of the hinge of her jaw "because if it was Quinn y'better tell me before I spend a fortune on dresses in here"

"No! Jay it wasn't Quinn, he stopped the guy who did it from punching me again! It was one of the stablehands, he had a problem with me, said I stole the farm from Jared before having him murdered by the 'scum I'm screwing now', when I wouldn't back down and give him double his wages after firing him he hit me, saying I 'never did know my place' he was just about to hit me again when Quinn got home and beat the living shit out of him, before he was joined by Bruce when he arrived back, I almost felt sorry for him having both of them whaling on him, almost" she explains, telling her the story of a few days past.

"Ok, but if he does EVER lay a finger on you or the girls you tell us, ok? I don't want any of you to be subjected to that ever again, now do you know what kind of dress you want? And what colour you want me in?" She asks smiling.

"I'm pretty sure what I want, as for you I was thinking deep red maybe? If that's ok? And are you looking for a dress too? I couldn't help noticing Eliot's wearing an engagement ring..." Ruby enquires with a small smirk.

"I'll be lookin' for sumthin' I like the style of, but we haven't talked about it yet, he found the ring while I was... gone... and started wearin' it to feel close to me, he knows that I've noticed he's wearin' it but like I said we haven't talked about it yet, I'm gonna talk to him about it and actually propose on our anniversary, the 21st of this month, and then I'll know whether to even look for a dress" she explains to her little sister.

"How can the 21st be your anniversary? You only got together a week ago!" Ruby exclaims, making Jayda smile at her.

"The 21st is the anniversary of the night we spent together in Moscow, the night Sarah was conceived, the first time he told me he loved me, that's how it's our anniversary" she tells her blushing lightly.

"Oh ok, well c'mon lets go look at dresses and drink champagne!" She answers, getting out of the truck and heading for the store, Jayda following close behind.

ELIOT

"C'mon bug, time to get dressed" Eliot calls over to Sarah after washing the breakfast dishes, when he gets no reply other than the sound of Wahya beating his tail against something he comes to check on her and find them both curled up on the snuggle chair together again, Sarah looking as if she's asleep.

"Hey bug? C'mon now, it's time to wake up and get dressed" he says again, gently shaking her tiny shoulder.

"Don' wanna daddy, just wanna cuddle and sleep..." she whines, her eyes slipping closed again before she's even finished speaking.

"I know you feel bad babygirl but we have to go look for the traps remember? Lets go upstairs and I'll get you dressed and then you can sleep in your little sled while I pull you along, keep you wrapped in blankets to keep you warm, whaddaya say?" He cajoles, picking her blanket wrapped body up when she doesn't open her eyes but nods slightly.

"Will you cuddle with me and Wahya before we go out?" She begs as he carries her up the stairs.

"Course I will bug, and when we get home too, maybe we'll have a shower or bath to warm up when we get back, how does that sound?" He asks as he strokes her back through her blanket.

"Will you come in with me?" She asks quietly.

"Sure I will, we'll warm up then curl up on the sofa with Wahya and wait for mommy to get home" he tells her as he puts her down on the bed.

"So what do you want to wear?" He asks.

"Are my black jeans and giant sweater clean?" She asks as she curls up on her side on the bed watching him through sleepy half-lidded eyes.

"They sure are ma'am, do you want a shirt for under the sweater? It's very cold out" he checks.

"Yes, there's a long sleeve tshirt in my box, if that's ok?" She tells him thinking she's gonna be in trouble for being a bother.

"Of course it's ok! What colour is it so I know what I'm lookin' for?" He asks coming over to her and checking her temperature before stroking her head gently, finding her quite hot for a were but not dangerously so, but he knows he'll have to keep an eye on her to make sure it doesn't get any worse.

"It's black, can I have a nap now daddy?" She asks, a distinct whine to her voice.

"Not yet, just wait until you're dressed, just a couple of minutes, ok?" He answers her before going to find the shirt she wants and some clean underwear for her.

He's back within a minute but when he walks back in can already tell she's asleep again, he knows sleep will help her heal but he needs her to dress first, so as much as he hates doing it he wakes her again.

"C'mon bug, I've got the shirt you wanted, lets get you dressed..." he says once he's gently woken her "then we'll go cuddle on the sofa for a bit with Wahya before we go out ok?"

"Ok daddy... I'm sorry I fell asleep again, I din't mean to..." she says with a whimper, more of her wolf characteristics coming out because she's tired and in pain.

"It's ok bug, it's because you need to sleep to heal, you can't help it, now quicker you're dressed quicker you can go back to sleep, ok?" He tells her stroking her hair.

"Ok..." she answers the word trailing off into a jaw-cracking yawn.

Eliot quickly has her dressed and brushes her hair, her head nodding forward as he's doing it, making it obvious she has inherited his love of having his hair played with and how it puts him to sleep.

Once he's plaited her hair he picks her up again and carries her down the stairs, going and putting her down on the snuggle chair before coming back to the house phone and its list of phone numbers.

He quickly dials the number for the horse farm and waits.

"Yea, I'm here,... hello?" Is what he hears when it's finally answered.

"Quinn? What's got you so panicked?" Eliot asks at Quinn's out of breath answer.

"I literally just pulled up outside, I had to run to get the phone, what can I help you with?" He replies.

"Well I was wonderin' if you could either spare Bruce for an hour or two or ask Caleb to come help me, when we were runnin' last night Sarah was caught in a silver-coated snare, her ankle's all cut and inflamed and she's yanked and twisted her knee and hip, I need one of them to come help me check to see if there are any more, if you don't mind" Eliot explains.

"She's ok though right?" He asks, worried for their little girl's health.

"She'll be fine, I'm keepin' an eye on her but only the cut is a real issue" Eliot reassures him, not wanting his friend to worry.

"Ok, good, I'll speak to Bruce and Caleb and get one of them over to you as soon as I can, do you guys need anything else?" Quinn asks, wanting to make sure he's doing everything he can for them.

"Nah we're good, but dependin' on the ladies we might be seein' you this evenin', if not it'll definitely be tomorrow" Eliot answers, his fond smile for his friend showing in his voice.

"Ok then I've gotta go, I don't know what mischief Jane's been getting into while we've been talking, I'll see you later man, bye!" Quinn ends their conversation quickly making Eliot chuckle as he comes back to the snuggle chair, picking Sarah up and sitting down with her on his lap, giving in when he sees Wahya giving him the puppy eyes and inviting him up onto the chair with them, before snuggling down with his little pack and deciding to do some online shopping before giving in to the urge to nap, just for a little bit.

JAYDA/RUBY

"What do you think?" Ruby asks as she steps out of the changing room in front of Jayda.

"You look gorgeous baby sister, but the question is, do you like it?" Jayda asks in return.

"It's exactly what I wanted! I just need to know I don't look stupid in it, do I?" She answers, showing the insecurity that Jared had firmly planted in her mind over the last twenty years.

"Of course you don't look stupid! You look stunningly beautiful! I hope I look half as good when I get married!" Jayda exclaims, unable to believe that Ruby can't see how amazing she looks in the mirror.

"You'll look better, you always look so radiant when you're with Eliot" Ruby replies, twisting this way and that so she can see the dress from all angles in the mirror.

"Excuse me, would you like to try a veil on with the dress?" The sales assistant asks.

"Oh! Yes if it's not too much trouble, that would be great!" Ruby answers before gazing at herself in the mirror again.

"Do you think Sean will like it?" Ruby asks quietly, looking out of the side of her eyes at her big sister.

"I think he'd love you in anythin', he loves you fiercely" Jayda answers before adding "but yes, I think he'll like it, if he doesn't he needs his head testin'!"

Ruby blushes lightly, looking away from Jayda, adding more innocence to her look and making her strikingly beautiful, making Jayda smile, just then her phone rings.

When she sees it's Quinn she's a little surprised as she knows that he's aware she's with Ruby, so why hadn't he rang Ruby's phone?

"Excuse me, I've just gotta take this" she says heading over to a quiet corner of the room.

"Quinn? What's wrong?" Jayda asks quietly, not wanting Ruby to overhear her.

"I need a massive favour and you can't tell Ruby about it because if you can help me it'll be my wedding present to her, do you mind my asking if you're willing?" Quinn explains, sounding rather cryptic.

"If it's within my power I'll do it for Ruby, so long as it doesn't cause problems for me and Eliot, so what's the favour?" She asks.

As Quinn gives a very basic outline of what he wants Jayda's eyebrows raise and then pull down into a frown before evening out at the end.

"So do you think you can help me? I don't know who else i could ask" He asks, sounding rather desperate.

"I think I can help, lets talk about this later, face to face ok? Now's not the best time if you want me to keep it from Ruby" she answers, hoping she's not giving him false hope.

"Of course, sorry, I'll let you go, thanks Jay" Quinn says before hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Ruby asks when Jayda returns.

"Just someone wantin' me to do a job, I turned them down when they said they'd need me over Christmas and new year, no way I'm missin' both of those important days!" Jayda fibs, silently cursing Quinn a little for putting her in this position.

"Now, lets see how you look with that veil on!" Jayda exclaims, picking up her glass of champagne and taking a sip.

ELIOT/QUINN

Eliot's woken when his phone buzzes on the side table where he left it, waking him with a start and a protective growl.

"Hello?" He snaps into the phone when he reaches out for it, bad tempered because moving Sarah might have woken her.

"El? It's Quinn, Caleb's busy and Bruce can't be spared so I'm coming over with Jane instead to help you look, is that ok?" Quinn asks as Eliot hears a truck door slam in the background.

"Quinn, you don' gotta, I can go alone, I don' know if there's a sled for Jane too" Eliot answers, giving the other man the option of an out if he wants it.

"Nah that's fine, she can walk and I'll carry her when she gets tired, it's not a problem, you need anything bringing?" He tells him, his voice overlaying the sound of the truck being started.

"No, we've got everythin' we need, I'll see you soon" Eliot finishes the conversation before hanging up once Quinn has said bye.

While he's waiting for Quinn to arrive he goes and grabs his snowboots and puts them on, followed by a thick sweater and getting his coat, gloves, hat and scarf ready laid over the back of the largest sofa before checking that his key is still around his neck so that he'll be able to let them all back in after their search.

Then he gathers Sarah's coat, boots and hat, scarf and gloves and brings them over to the chair she's still asleep on.

"C'mon bug, time to put your coat and things on" Eliot says, manoeuvring her into her coat, boots and other outerwear before wrapping her in a large fuzzy blanket like a bug in a cocoon.

Once he's finished he sits cuddling her until there's a knock on the door, putting Sarah back down on the chair he goes over and answers the door to Quinn who's carrying Jane.

"Hey man thanks for comin', and heya Tazzie! Can you do me a favour and show me where the sled is kept?" Eliot greets them.

"Okay!" Jane answers enthusiastically, wriggling to make Quinn put her down, once her feet hit the floor she darts past Eliot, grabbing his hand along the way, and drags him to the basement stairs, followed by a highly amused Quinn.

"Aunt Jay keeps them in the basement, uncle Eliot! They're in the corner storeroom with her spare punching bag!" Jane reveals as she carefully walks down the stairs, still tugging Eliot along in her wake.

Once they reach the storeroom it's only moments to find and retrieve the two sleds from the back of the room and then usher Jane back up the stairs while he carries them.

"Find everything you need 'uncle' Eliot?" Quinn asks when they return to the main floor, smirking the whole time.

"I know you have sumthin' to do with the whole 'uncle Eliot' thing so watch it or you're gonna have sore ribs again" Eliot threatens, hating it when Quinn winds him up even though he knows it's meant all in good fun.

"Sorry!" Quinn says, looking a little hurt, but figuring Eliot's probably in a bad mood because Sarah has been hurt, after all knowing Eliot he probably blames himself for it happening.

Eliot puts the sleds down next to the front door then goes to Sarah and gently shakes her.

"Hey bug, c'mon, it's time to go out, Quinn and Jane are here to go out with us!" He tells her, hoping that the news will help her perk up a little.

"Wanna sleep daddy..." she murmurs, not really waking up to answer.

"I know babygirl but I need you to wake up just for a little bit, please?" Eliot cajoles while stroking her back gently.

"Can Wahya ride in my sled with me?" She asks, whining a little as she speaks.

"If he fits and he wants to he can ok?" He answers, wanting to tell her not to whine but not wanting to embarrass her by telling her off in front of Quinn and Jane.

"Okay then" she answers tiredly, dragging her arms out of her cocoon and wrapping them around his neck, Eliot picking her up and carrying her over to the front door.

"Hey Wahya!" He says before whistling quickly, calling the newest member of his Pack to join them.

Wahya quickly trots over to Eliot, sits down and looks up at him, head cocked as if awaiting orders, and as soon as the front door is opened he trots out and sits on the porch assuming the same position.

"Quinn can you grab the sleds and a blanket for Jane while I carry Sarah and lock the door?" Eliot asks, waiting until Quinn and Jane are outside before following them out and locking the door behind them, then getting Sarah situated in her sled, it turns out Wahya does fit in with her and he quickly curls up over her legs before rolling his eyes upwards to look at Eliot and check he's not in trouble.

"Don't worry Wahya, you're not bein' bad, you're a good boy" he tells him, crouching down to stroke his head and scratch behind his ears, Wahya's tongue lolling out in enjoyment.

Once Quinn has Jane situated on her sled wrapped in her blanket the two men set out, heading in a direct line to where the snare had caught Sarah the night before.

JAYDA/RUBY

"Are you sure about the style Ru?" Jayda asks for the third time, turning so she can see the back of the dress Ruby wants her to wear for the wedding.

"I'm sure, with those shoes that dress makes you look like you have really long legs and it shows off a lot of your tattoos with it being backless, you look amazing!" Ruby reassures her, not realising that she's saying exactly the wrong thing.

"But Ru, I don't _want_ to look amazin'!, it's your special day, everyone's eyes should be on you! I'd feel awful if I took any of the attention off you!" Jayda says, nearly in tears.

"Hey Jay no! I _want_ you to wear this, I _want_ you to look amazing so in my wedding photos we look awesome together, you won't be stealing attention from me, no more than you always would because you're gorgeous anyway! Please, i'd like you to wear this..." Ruby replies, nearly begging her sister to look her best.

"If you're sure it's what you want I won't argue, it's your weddin' and I want you to have it the way you want" Jayda tells her, sitting down next to her to undo the red stiletto shoes that it looks like she'll be wearing for the wedding.

"So what about a wedding dress for you?" Ruby asks, wanting to help her sister pick out the perfect gown too.

"I feel like it would be bad luck to look at dresses before talkin' about it all with Eliot, if all goes well on the 21st then we'll come down again before I go to Portland to look, ok?" Jayda promises, blushing slightly.

Before going to change out of the dress Jayda asks "do you want to come to my house? We'll get Eliot's opinion on your dress to make sure you're as beautiful as I say..." she offers, giving Ruby a good reason to say yes.

"You know I think that's a good idea, can I keep the dress at your house so Quinn won't be tempted to peek?" She asks, suddenly nervous.

"Yeah no problem, I'm just gonna go get out of this dress" she agrees before disappearing behind the curtain again.

ELIOT/QUINN

Eliot and Quinn don't talk much as they walk except for Eliot pointing out interesting things to the girls (and Quinn, not that he realises he's teaching Quinn too) as they pass them, eventually they come to the place where the snare had caught Sarah.

Eliot drops the rope he's been pulling Sarah's sled by and goes to the small tree the snare had been connected to, only to find it gone, he checks the ground under the tree to check it hadn't just fallen but finds no sign of it, meaning that whoever had placed it had come back for it and removed it sometime in the morning, meaning it couldn't have been done by Jared before he died.

"What's wrong Eliot?" Quinn asks seeing the mask of anger drop down over his friends face.

"The bastard who set the snare came back for it sometime between midnight and now, meanin' it's someone from town doin' this, I had hoped it had been Jared and once we found all the traps that would be the end of it, but now I know it's never gonna stop until I catch the fuc... son of a bi... grrr... _him_ " Eliot says only just remembering to watch his language in front of the girls in time.

"Is there a scent of the person doing this?" Quinn asks trying to be helpful.

"No, whoever he is he knows what he's doin', he's sprayed the area with vinegar it's all I can smell" Eliot answers, a growl starting to emanate from his chest.

"Well if he collected this trap he probably took any others nearby too, should we head back to the house?" Quinn asks.

"Yeah lets get the girls inside, I'll make them cocoa and s'mores as a snack" Eliot answers, grabbing the rope for Sarah's sled and starting back towards the house.

When they finally arrive back at the house after a silent return journey Eliot and Quinn find that both girls are asleep, so Eliot opens the front door and carries them in one at a time, getting Quinn to stand the sleds on the end of the porch to dry off before he comes in, the girls are both laid on the snuggle armchair to sleep, with Wahya on the floor in front, standing watch over them.

"So what now?" Quinn asks, not really sure what Eliot can do about this 'hunter' without any leads.

"Now I speak to the Elder Council, see what plan we can come up with" Eliot tells him, his head hanging in defeat as he stands at the kitchen counter, leaning on his hands to hold him up.

"Hey, it's gonna be ok, you'll catch this person, I'm sure of it" Quinn says, placing his hand between Eliot's shoulder blades and rubbing gently in reassurance.

"Quinn, don't..." Eliot rasps out, not able to bare being touched while feeling so low.

Quinn takes his hand away at Eliot's desperate request saying "I'm sorry, I was just being supportive..."

"I know... I just don't like bein' touched sometimes" Eliot answers "but thanks for the thought" he adds, looking up at Quinn and quirking a slightly sad smile for him, which he replies to with one of his own.

JAYDA/ELIOT/RUBY/QUINN

Eliot's just about to speak when the door opens and a giggling Jayda and Ruby pretty much fall through it, stopping suddenly and looking at Eliot and Quinn with big, wide eyes at getting caught by surprise, then they speak in unison.

"Eliot, I thought you'd still be out!" Exclaims Jayda.

"Quinn what are you doing here?" Ruby asks.

The men look at each other and burst out laughing, the situation is so funny to them.

"Well darlin' we've only been back five minutes, and Quinn came to help because Bruce and Caleb were both too busy" Eliot answers them both, still smirking "now be quiet, the girls are sleepin'"

"Sorry!" Both women whisper as they come over and give their respective other halves a hug and a kiss before Jayda speaks with her arms still around Eliot's neck.

"El, I need you to take Ru upstairs and give her an opinion on her weddin' dress, I'll stay down here with Quinn and make sure he's not tempted to try for a peek ok?" She asks before kissing him again, not actually letting him answer which Ruby finds hilarious and has Quinn smirking too.

When he's finally able to bring himself to break their kiss Eliot answers "ok, just you and Quinn be quiet, Sarah needs to sleep to heal"

"Don't worry we'll be quiet" she answers before reluctantly letting him go so he can lead Ruby up the stairs while he carries her dress bag up for her.

Once they've rounded the top of the stairs Jayda turns to Quinn and asks "so what's this plan of yours?"

"Well first I gotta ask you some questions about Ruby" Quinn starts, heading over to sit on the couch furthest from the sleeping girls, Jayda following and sitting next to him.

"Alright, ask away" Jayda invites.

"Ok... I need to know in what way Ruby is infertile? Is it just that she has no eggs or does she not have periods at all?" He asks first.

"She's got no eggs, but the damage to her ovaries means she doesn't have a very regular cycle, sometimes she has no periods for six months sometimes they're only two weeks apart, it just depends on what her hormone levels manage to do, what else do you need to know?" She answers factually.

"Do you know if she was told whether IVF would be feasible for her? Would she be able to carry a child to term if it was used?" He asks, desperate for the answer to be positive.

"They told her she'd have about a 65% chance of carryin' to term if she managed to implant an IVF egg successfully, but all in all she'd need a lot of luck and hormone therapy to make that happen" Jayda tells him, a tinge of sadness colouring her voice "look I have to ask, what's brought all this on?" She asks wondering why it's suddenly so important to know these things and why he's asking her not Ruby.

"To be blunt we want a child of our own, as much as we love Sarah and Jane we want one that's ours, that she's carried inside her and given birth to herself, a gift we can both share in that will forever bind us together, no matter what" Quinn explains.

"But Ruby could have asked me at any time, why now and why is it you who is askin'?" Jayda asks perplexed.

"Because she never wanted Jared's child, but she wants to have mine, so badly she cried herself to sleep in my arms last night because she was so devastated she can't have a baby, so I decided i'd do anything, no matter the cost, to see that dream realised, and I couldn't think of anyone better to ask than you" he explains.

"I'll do anythin' I can to help" she tells him making the next part easier for him.

"Ok, now for the favour... would you be willing to donate some eggs for me and Ruby to try for a baby of our own? I know that now you're a were any child we'd have with your eggs would be a were too but that's not a problem for us, if you're willing" he asks, almost begging he sounds so desperate.

"As you know Eliot and I are wantin' to have another child of our own which would make harvestin' eggs a problem, however I have some good news for you, I had a hundred of my eggs harvested and frozen years ago, for my own reasons, if you use them then your child won't be a were, they'll be human like both of you, I think those eggs would be perfect for what you need, don't you think? They're all yours, consider it my weddin' gift to you both" Jayda tells him making his heart drop into his boots before making it swell so much he thinks his chest is going to burst.

"Thank you, thank you so, so much!" He exclaims, wrapping his arms around her and pecking her on the lips before squeezing her so tight she goes light headed.

Their hug is broken by Ruby's voice "what's going on?" She asks obviously confused at seeing her sister and her husband-to-be hugging on a couch.

"Just your sister being awesome is all, come here Ru" he says holding his arms out to her while he hopes she didn't see him peck Jayda on the lips, he hadn't meant to, it just happened, he was just so happy and needed to express it, "c'mon I wanna give you a hug!" He encourages her, pulling her onto his lap when she's close enough.

"What has gotten into you?" She asks him, having no idea what is making him act like this.

"I'm just happy, Jayda has helped me with your wedding present and I'm over the moon about it, that's all" he answers, pulling her down into a very passionate kiss while Jayda gets up and goes to the kitchen to give them some privacy, smiling softly as she goes.

"Hey!" Eliot says as he slips up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist "what is goin' on? And did I see him kiss you?" He asks quietly.

"I'll tell you what's goin' on after they've gone, I don't want to risk Ru hearin' me while I tell you, and yes he kissed me, please tell me Ruby didn't see that?" She tells him.

"No I came down the stairs first, she didn't see it, lucky for him..." Eliot answers, obviously not too happy about it himself from the growl in his voice.

"He didn't mean anythin' by it, he was just happy that he'll be able to give Ruby sumthin' she wants very much, it was nothin'" she reassures him, wrapping her arms over his and squeezing reassuringly.

"You're sure?" He asks, just having to double check, needing to know she wasn't hurt or upset by it.

"I'm sure, he is just really, really happy, I'm glad I could help him with it" she answers, just intriguing him further.

"So, do I get to see you in your dress once they've gone?" He asks, rubbing up against her ass to make sure she knows what is on his mind.

"Nope, after that crack about sleepin' with the head bridesmaid you can wait and see it on the day, serves you right, and of course the fact that if I put it on for you today I risk gettin' it either ripped off me or cum stained, and I'm not doin' that!" She answers, getting her revenge for his piss take that morning.

"Spoilsport, you better believe I wanna make love to you while you're still wearin' it after the weddin'" he whispers in her ear, making her knees turn to jello at the thought.

"You're a terrible man Eliot Spencer, lucky for you I love you anyway..." she whispers back while she turns in his arms so that she can kiss him, the brief kiss she was expecting soon turning into a heated, long kiss.

Both pairs of adults are deeply involved in their kisses and don't notice that Jane has woken up until she says "mommy? Are you done kissing daddy yet? I need a drink!" Making both couples stop and look at her, each of the four of them slowly going red in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry Tazzie, I didn't know you'd woken up, I'll just get..." Ruby starts before Eliot cuts her off.

"It's ok, I'll get it, what do you want to drink Tazzie?" Eliot asks, smiling over at the little girl curled up with her sleeping sister.

"Do you have apple juice? If you do i'd like some of that please" she answers politely.

"Yeah we have apple juice, one glass comin' up, does anyone else want anythin'?" Eliot asks, going to get Jane's drink when all the adults say no.

"Here you go sweetheart" Eliot says a minute later as he hands the glass to Jane, taking a moment to stroke her head in affection before she starts drinking.

"Do you guys wanna stay for dinner?" Eliot asks Ruby and Quinn, more than happy to spend time with the new extended family he's become part of.

"I wish we could but I'm expecting some calls about some horses this evening so we have to get a move on, but maybe in the next few days?" Ruby answers looking and sounding very regretful.

"Just let us know when you're free" Eliot replies smiling, returning to Jayda and wrapping his arms around her again.

"I promise we will" Ruby answers before turning to Quinn and saying "we gotta go, will you get Jane? I'm assuming Sarah is staying here tonight?" Raising her voice at the end in a question to Jayda and Eliot.

"Yes if that's ok?" Jayda replies, hugging onto Eliot's arms.

"Course it is!" Ruby answers smiling.

With that Quinn stands Ruby up from his lap before standing himself and going over to Jane.

"C'mon Tazzie, lets go home and watch a movie ok?" He says picking her up and snuggling her into his chest before heading back to Ruby and the door.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow ok?" Jayda says knowing that Ruby will want Sarah home to sleep the next night since full moon will be over.

"Yeah I'll call you during the day, okay?" Ruby replies as she opens the door for Quinn to carry Jane out.

"Ok talk to you then!" Jayda answers before Ruby closes the door behind her and the small pack is left in silence.

ELIOT/JAYDA

"Wanna go for a 'nap' while Sarah's sleepin'?" Eliot whispers into Jayda's ear a moment later, his arms squeezing her tightly for a moment.

"We shouldn't" Jayda replies already knowing that if he pushes the matter she's going to give in because she _does_ want it.

"Look Sarah's gonna sleep til she's healed, you know how us were's are, so while she's out of it lets make the most of it, Wahya will let us know if she needs us" he tells her between kisses to her neck and nips on her ear.

"Mmmm Eliot!..." she whispers, turning in his arms and kissing him passionately as she wraps her arms around his neck tightly, jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist when he grabs her ass with both hands.

"Yeah..." he growls out between kisses as he heads for the stairs, hitching her up higher just before he starts climbing them.

When they reach the top he doesn't turn around the newel post to get into the bedroom, he just pushes her up against the wall at the top of the stairs, using the wall to hold her still while he grinds against her hard, making it obvious to her just how hard for her he is.

"Oh yesss..." she groans out quietly, loving the feeling of his hot hardness against her denim-clad lips.

"Need you..." he growls, holding her even tighter against him before pulling her away from the wall and making it into the bedroom, kicking the door closed behind him.

"Undo your jeans" he commands as he lets her down, turning her on the spot and smacking her asscheek _hard_ , as soon as her jeans are undone he pushes her forward so she's bent over the bed, resting on her hands, and pulls her jeans down onto her thighs just below her buttocks.

After that she feels him rub his erection over her silk covered ass, his hot, velvety flesh sliding against the silk smoothly before he pulls the back of the crotch to one side and slides a finger into her.

"OH!" She cries out when his knuckle rubs over her g-spot firmly as he curls his finger inside of her.

"That good?" He growls as he does it again, getting a wordless moan in return, encouraging him to do it again and again until her legs start shaking, just as she thinks she's going to cum just from his finger rubbing in her he pulls it back out again and resumes rubbing his hardness over her silk knickers.

" _Tease_..." she rasps out, for once hers being the gravelly voice.

"I beg your pardon? I'm no tease! just had to make sure you were ready..." he replies before pulling her panties down over her ass to join her jeans and quickly slamming his hard cock into her, hard and deep, making her cry out.

"AH! Eliot!" She whisper-shouts, a touch of pain lacing her cry.

But Eliot doesn't pause, knowing she'd let him know if he was actually hurting her, he keeps thrusting hard and deep, quickly bringing her close to an orgasm again.

"Ooohhhh Eliot yes! Gonna.... gonna..." she cries out, forgetting to be quiet this time, something Eliot loves to hear, that she's losing control of herself because of him.

"I'm... AAAAHHHHH!" She practically yells, Eliot pushing her head downwards until her face is in the bedding, muffling her shouts, even as he keeps pounding into her relentlessly.

As soon as her muffled shouts stop he releases her head not wanting to suffocate her in the bedding, instead grabbing both hips bruisingly hard, to use them as leverage for his thrusts, making sure he goes as deep and hard as he can.

"Ah! Eliot yes! Please don't stop!" She begs him, beginning to tighten down on him again almost immediately as he hammers into her.

"Not gonna stop" he growls out, barely able to speak as his teeth are so extended, he's that turned on.

As he continues plunging into her she starts to whine, high in her throat, and each whine becomes a squeak at the height of each thrust, making him begin to growl deep in his chest at this sign of her enjoyment.

"Oh! El, I'm gonna... gonna cum again!" She pants out, tightening down excruciatingly hard on him as she soaks his balls and her jeans as she cums again, this time biting her own forearm to muffle her shouts.

"Take your top off" he commands her while still thrusting into her harshly, making her pull her sweater and tshirt up over her head and down her arms until she can throw them to the foot of the bed, leaving her in a lace and silk longline bra that comes down to her waist almost like some kind of corset, that is obviously made to match the silk knickers she's wearing.

"Mmmm, wanna see you properly, get your jeans off and get on the bed" he tells her, quickly pulling out of her and stripping off his own tops, dropping them on the floor before dropping his jeans and getting on the bed, laying flat on his back right in the middle with his hands behind his head while he waits for her.

As soon as she's on the bed his hands come from behind his head to grab hers, pulling her down into a plundering kiss, making her fall forward so she's half laid over him, her breasts rubbing over his chest and her leg coming up over his hips so that she can rub herself against his thigh muscle.

"Get over here" he growls when their kiss breaks, pulling her over him until she's straddling his hips, even while still laid over him, kissing him again, fighting for dominance.

When he nips her lip she pulls back, looking down at him as she licks over the now bleeding puncture in her bottom lip.

"You're goin' to pay for that!" She growls at him, quickly taking hold of both his nipples with the fingernails of each hand, nipping them hard before twisting them.

His hands immediately come up from her hips to grab her wrists, pulling her hands away from his chest and out to the sides.

"Do I need to tie up your hands again? Can you not behave?" He asks her, his voice gravelly and low, sounding just as dangerous as he is, then leaning up and licking over her bleeding lip himself.

As he holds her there, just hovering over his chest while her folds slide over the length of his cock, wetting him and teasing her clit, she pants, unable to move because of his iron grip on her wrists and the fact that he's pulled her hands out to the sides, leaving her with nothing she can use to help free herself with.

"Well?" He rasps out, his voice the only thing indicating that her rubbing over his cock was affecting him, obviously expecting an answer.

After trying one last time to break free of his hold and failing she finally answers him.

"You don't need to tie me up again, I can be good, Alpha" she says tipping her head slightly and averting her eyes.

"Hey! Look at me! Don't look away when I'm talkin' to you like this!" He tells her, her eyes instantly snapping to his, staring into the golden shine of his eyes.

"C'mere..." he slowly growls out, forcing her down until he can kiss her savagely.

While he kisses her she slides forwards along his dick, until his head is poised at her entrance, when he feels she's in the right position he tenses his muscles and lifts his cock, making it stand away from his body, so he's in exactly the right position to enter her without using his hands to position himself at her entrance.

"It's time for you to work hard now, mommy" Eliot tells her as he thrusts up into her, making her gasp at both his words and actions before he adds in a whisper in her ear "lets make another baby..." then kissing her gently, completely knocking her off-balance emotionally.

"Yes!" She cries out in an almost sob, before slamming herself down on his cock and kissing him passionately, grabbing both sides of his head as he lets go of her wrists so that he can grab her ass with both hands, pulling her flush against him as he grinds up into her, before starting a long, slow, deep rhythm of thrusts into her, making her gasp wetly in enjoyment and emotional reaction.

As he moves within her she starts to move too, coming down to meet his thrusts upwards, matching his slow pace before changing so that she is more moving with him, so that she's constantly grinding her clit against his pelvis as he only moves in and out of her a little.

"I love you" he tells her quietly but firmly while staring into her gold-ringed white eyes, grinding into her excruciatingly slowly before taking hold of her shoulders and lowering her chest down until she's laid over his chest, his cock still moving within her but gently, long, teasing thrusts that hit all the right spots while still making her feel safe and comforted, because for all he chooses to appear a typical oblivious man he's not, and he's noticed she's on the verge of tears, and he just wants to make her feel as loved as she is.

"I love you too" she says unsteadily, barely hiding the tears in her voice, before kissing him again, gentler this time but still filled with passion.

"You ok?" He asks, rubbing over her cheekbone with his thumb comfortingly.

"Yeah, are you?" She asks in return, her hands stroking down the sides of his neck and shoulders.

"Of course I am, just wanted to check I hadn't pushed too hard, did I?" He asks, getting a shake of her head in answer, after a while of kissing and slow thrusts he breaks away to speak again.

"C'mon, sit up, lets see what you've got!" He challenges her, helping her to sit up and reposition herself so that she is comfortably sat on him with his whole length snug inside her.

"Ah!" She cries out as she wriggles on him, making sure he's seated fully inside her, loving the feel of being filled by him while her clit is rubbing over his pelvic bone.

Once she's ready she takes hold of his hands and starts to move, sliding backwards and forwards along his cock, grinding her clit against him as he moans underneath her, quickly she changes from gripping his hands to holding on to his muscular forearms using her grip to grind herself forwards and backwards more harshly by the second.

"Oh! El! Feels so fuckin' good! C'mon, fuck me hard!" She growls out as she tightens on him, approaching another orgasm quickly, Eliot following her command and thrusting up into her hard, in time with her own movements.

"Gonna cum if you keep this up" he growls back at her, his control slipping as he plays with her breasts and nipples through the silk and lace of her bra.

"Want you to! Want you to cum with me and fill me with your cum! Wanna drip with it!" She replies, grinding down all the harder against his cock, balls and pelvis.

"Oh gods! Gonna... gonna... AHH!!," he calls out as she clamps her teeth over her bottom lip while her muscles clamp tightly around his cock, them both cumming within seconds of each other, her throat letting out a high pitched whine as she tips over the edge while he continues to cum for a good ten seconds longer.

She collapses down over his chest again, thrusting her hands into his hair this time and kissing him softly as they both catch their breath.

"You wanna go again?" Eliot asks once he's caught his breath, only half kidding, making her choke on her breath and start coughing even as she laughs in disbelief, his cock twitching where it's still within her.

"Not right now, no, give me a chance to recover, ok?" She begs, laughing when he twitches within her again even as he pouts up at her.

"Spoilsport!" He declares, squeezing her around the waist to show he's only joking.

"What can I say? You wore me out!" She says, kissing him on the nose and smiling softly down at him "I really do love you, you know? I can't tell you how happy I am to have you here with me now, forever" she tells him before laying back down on his chest and kissing him slowly and passionately.

"I love you too, and now bein' with you I finally feel complete, as clichéd as that might sound, I have never been as happy as I am now, I've never even been close, to finally have you and our child, with the hope for another to come soon, my life is perfect, thanks to you" he tells her when she lifts herself up from his chest when their kiss breaks, one hand staying wrapped around her waist and the other coming up into her hair, cupping the back of her head and bringing her down so he can kiss her again.

As they kiss he eventually pulls out of her, then slowly rolls them onto their sides so that they can lay comfortably, when their kiss ends she tucks her head in under his chin and sighs, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist hugging him while he presses his nose against the top of her head taking deep breaths in of her scent, calming his wolf with the knowledge that his Mate is safe in his arms.

They lay for a while just holding each other until Eliot is disturbed from his relaxed not-quite-a-doze by Jayda scratching herself vigorously all up and down her arms and thighs then across her belly and cleavage too.

"Hey! What's goin' on? Why are you scratchin' at y'self?" He asks her, holding her back from his chest so he can see her properly.

"Gods I'm just so itchy! I can't help it! This is how I felt the day you took Sarah to the mall, although today's milder" she answers him, his immediate reaction being to think it's about her needing to Change like it was that day.

"Do you need to Chamge?" He asks her, remembering once when he had an infection and it made him itch until he Changed to help his immune system fight it off.

"Maybe, would it be ok if I do? Could we carry on cuddlin' if I'm a wolf and you're not?" She asks, it being more important to her that they spend the time being close than that she does something about the itching that's driving her mad.

"Of course it'll be ok! I'm more than happy to cuddle you when you're a wolf! Or do anythin' else you want either!" He tells her leering a little towards the end.

"You..." she says, lightly pinching his side in retaliation for his leer, but smiling at him in forgiveness and slight encouragement at the same time, making him laugh softly in return.

"Ok then, let go and we'll see if Changin' helps with the itchin'" she tells him, waiting until he lets go to sit up and shake her hair out of her face before reaching behind herself and undoing the the clasps of her bra all the way down her spine, Eliot watching and licking his lips as her breasts slowly come into view, unable to stop himself from reaching out and stroking and holding her breasts and gently massaging at her nipples before she slowly takes hold of his hands to stop him.

"Can you take the splint off please?" She asks him holding her arm out to him, relaxing in place once it's removed and taking a deep breath.

"Here I go!" She says before dropping her head forwards and beginning her Change while sat in the middle of the bed.

Minutes later a white wolf is in her place, slowly she lays down before cuddling up against Eliot's chest, licking his face and neck and rubbing her muzzle against his jawline while he buries his hands in her ruff and gives her scratches and pets.

"Is that any better baby? You're beautiful, the most beautiful wolf I've ever seen" he tells her, gently taking hold of her soft ears and massaging them, making her tip her head towards his hands and let her tongue loll out in pleasure.

*that feels so good! But stop for a moment!* she tells him through the Bond, getting up and standing next to him where he's laid naked on top of the covers before turning around and laying back down again, immediately she leans towards him and licks up the length of his cock, making his hand shoot to her head as he groans deep in his throat.

"Oh gods! Jayda!" He moans out, unable to move he's gone so weak limbed from pleasure.

She chuffs at him and continues to lick at him until all she can taste is clean skin, no hint of either of their flavours remaining on him, all the while Eliot moans in pleasure and encouragement, once she's sure he's clean she turns around again, cuddling up to his chest and nuzzling her nose against his neck and talking to him through the Bond.

*Are you ok? I didn't mean to freak you out or overwhelm you, I just wanted you to be clean and happy while we snuggle down* she explains as she nips his earlobe gently.

"No it's fine, it was just unexpected, i'd never considered the idea of you doin' that!" He answers her out loud, wrapping his arms around her neck and snuggling his face into her ruff.

*well there's plenty more we can do like this too!* she tells him, a laugh in her 'voice'.

"Hhmmm as good as that sounds we shouldn't when Sarah might need us, are you gonna stay like this til we run? Or are you Changin' back to eat with us?" He asks from his place with his face buried in her ruff, sounding muffled even to her wolf ears.

*i think I'll Change back before we go downstairs, are you wantin' to go down now?* she asks him, wanting to snuggle for longer but only if it's what he wants too.

"No not yet, lets cuddle for a while longer" he tells her, pulling her closer and cuddling against her length, liking the feeling of her fur against his bare skin.

"We'll have just a little nap..." he mumbles to her as he drops into sleep, Jayda soon following him.


	39. exploring and comforting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Quinn have some alone time, Hardison surprises Eliot and Eliot and Jayda get some troubling news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry, sorry the chronic fatigue is still kicking my ass and that’s why I haven’t posted in a while but I got a nice (if slightly cheeky) message at new year and decided to post this, hope y'all like it!
> 
> Happy new year everyone! (I’ll try to post more, there’s only a few more days to go!)
> 
> Enjoy darlin's

ELIOT/JAYDA

Jayda wakes up because her back is cold and finds herself on top of the blankets, naked, and wrapped in the arms of Eliot, she smiles and stretches, remembering that she was a wolf when she went to sleep and wondering slightly at how she could Change back without waking up.

She looks up into Eliot's sleeping face and marvels at how _young_ he looks without the stress of the waking world on him and slowly leans up to gently kiss him, as soon as her lips touch his his arms tighten around her, pulling her up against his body tighter until her breasts are crushed against his hard pecs and their kiss has become a lot more passionate.

"I'm sorry I din't mean to wake you" Jayda tells him when their kiss ends, her hand stroking the side of his face gently.

"That's ok, I shouldn't have let myself fall asleep to begin with" he replies, leaning forward and kissing her again, more slowly this time but still just as passionately.

"Did you Change back in your sleep or when you woke up?" He asks her between kisses.

"In my sleep, I can't believe I slept through Changin'!" She tells him smiling before kissing him again.

When their kiss ends they lay with their foreheads together, staring into each others eyes until Eliot says "we should really get up and check on Sarah, no matter how much I want to make love to you again"

She smiles up into his eyes a little shyly and answers "you do? Me too, but you're right we should check on her, see how she's doin'"

At her answer he slowly lets go of her so she can roll to the side and sit up, once she's up he does the same and grabs his jeans from where he left them on the floor.

"You really should put some underwear on you know..." she comments to him just as she bends over to pick up her jeans and underwear, giving him a spectacular view of her ass and pussy pouting out from between her thighs.

"But if I did I wouldn't be able to do this..." he says moving behind her and rubbing his already hard cock over her lips before slowly sliding into her, making her groan and grab at the bedclothes.

"E...Eliot! I thought we weren't goin' to do this?" She gasps out as she moves back towards him trying to get him in deeper.

"We're not, I just wanted you to know one of the reasons I wasn't wearin' underwear tonight..." he answers as he pulls back out of her and tucks himself back into his jeans.

"Eliot Spencer you fuckin' TEASE!" She hisses at him, turning to face him with a glare equal to any he's ever used.

"I'm sorry darlin', I promise I'll make it up to you later tonight ok?" He tells her wrapping her in his arms and holding her tightly.

"Ok,.... but only if you really want to..." she answers, making him wonder what's wrong.

"Of course I want to! I want you now but we have to check on Sarah and make dinner, I don't get hard for people I don't want, especially not that fast!" He reassures her, figuring this was brought on by her insecurity about her ability to please him in bed again.

"Ok" she answers, hugging him back until he lessens his grip, then letting go so she can get dressed.

Once they're both fully dressed, Jayda's arm is resplinted and they have made the bed presentable again they head downstairs to check on their daughter.

When they reach the main room they find Sarah and Wahya curled up together on the snuggle chair, Wahya wakes up and looks at them, tail wagging softly but Sarah doesn't stir, Eliot goes to check on her, checking her temperature he finds her warm to the touch but not hot, but just to be sure he wakes her gently just in case.

"Sarah, sweetheart? Wake up for me bug, just gotta check you're doin' ok" he says as gently as he can while shaking her, getting her to blearily open her eyes and look at him.

"Hey daddy, what's wrong?" She asks, bringing her hand up to rub at her eye.

"Nuthin's wrong bug, I just wanted to check you were ok because you've been asleep all day" he tells her stroking her hair off her forehead.

"My leg hurts and I'm tired... and I'm hungry" she informs him, struggling her way out of the clothing and blanket cocoon she's in before reaching down to pull her boots off.

"Here bug I'll do that, you undo your coat for me ok?" Eliot says, kneeling down to pull her snowboots off and then taking them and standing them by the door.

"Ok, lets get rid of some of these layers" he tells her when he gets back, pulling off her coat and sweater and taking her gloves and scarf when she hands them to him.

"I'll leave your sweater here in case you get cold alright? Now I'm gonna go make dinner while mommy brings you some pills and juice again, love you bug" he tells her taking her coat, scarf and gloves and hanging everything up on the coat tree before heading to the kitchen, stopping to kiss and pinch the ass of Jayda as he passes her, getting a low growl in return.

"Here you go, these will make you feel better, I know you hate takin' pills but it's the best I can do, I'm gonna call grandpa and ask him to bring somethin' else for you if he can, ok?" Jayda tells her, handing her the pills then the juice so that she can swallow them, Sarah empties half of the pint glass of juice in one long swallow surprising her until Sarah explains.

"I'm sorry for bein' greedy but I was really thirsty!" She tells her looking a little fearful.

"That ok, bug, if your thirsty that's what it's there for, bein' sick will make you thirsty sometimes too, it's all ok" Jayda reassures her gently, smiling at her then bending down and kissing her forehead.

"Can I go back to sleep until dinner's ready?" She asks her mother not wanting to upset anyone again.

"Course you can sweetie, I'll wake you up when it's nearly ready, ok?" Jayda answers, stroking her hair as her eyes drift shut again before going to join Eliot in the kitchen.

"She gone back to sleep?" Eliot asks as she comes to stand beside him.

"Yeah she drank half a pint of that juice straight down and then went straight back to sleep, she must have needed it, I told her i'd wake her up just before dinner was ready, so what do you need me to do?" She answers, wrapping her arms around his waist and nibbling at his neck.

"I need you to stop tryin' to distract me, I really don't wanna get burned again, just sit on one of the stools and talk to me, it's what Parker does and I find it quite... calming" he tells her, liking having her show him affection but needing to focus on cooking.

"Alright, what do you wanna talk about?" She asks taking her place on one of the breakfast bar stools.

"Well... I had the weirdest dream...." Eliot starts as he begins chopping vegetables.

QUINN/RUBY

After they've eaten dinner and Quinn has put Jane to bed, while Ruby was taking her phone calls about horses, Quinn and Ruby curl up together on the sofa, sharing a glass of wine and talking.

"So it looks like those two horses will be going so I will have room for those ones Jamie has" Ruby finishes telling Quinn about how her call went before adding "so did Jane give you any trouble?"

"Nope she was exhausted even after the nap she had, I think it might be a being a member of a pack thing, she was curled up with Sarah after all" Quinn answers, forgetting that she doesn't know about Sarah's injury.

"Why would that matter?" Ruby asks perplexed.

"Sarah was injured last night while they were out running, she was caught in a silver coated snare, it yanked her leg joints and cut and burned around her ankle, she's still healing because the silver cut into her, Eliot said she'll heal a lot slower because of that and in the meantime any pack members who are physically close will feel tired as she draws strength from them to help her heal" Quinn explains, holding Ruby close as she gets upset at her daughter being hurt again.

"Who keeps doing this to us? Why would any of the tribe hate the were's that much?" Ruby asks, not really expecting an answer from Quinn but needing to express her disbelief that someone would do this to their own people.

"I don't know Ru but I'm gonna help Eliot find out" Quinn reassures her, hugging her tightly while she finishes the last of the wine.

"Sean? I know it's still early but can we go to bed? I just wanna be held by you" Ruby asks tentatively, not wanting to push Quinn into anything but needing the closeness of being naked with him.

"Course we can baby, I'm needing a shower after the hike we went on, you wanna join me?" Quinn asks while stroking her neck with his thumb.

"I'd like that" she whispers as she leans in to kiss him, the kiss quickly turning passionate rather than slow and gentle.

When their kiss breaks Ruby gets up and leans down to pull Quinn to his feet, telling him to leave the wine glass where it is until morning she leads him out of the room and up the stairs to their bedroom.

When they reach the bedroom and the door is closed behind them Ruby reaches up and pulls Quinn down into a passionate kiss, then reaches up to undo the buttons on his shirt, quickly stripping it off him and moving on to trying to undo his belt.

"Hey! What's going on? Why are y..." Quinn pulls back from their kiss and starts to ask before Ruby covers his lips with the three middle fingers of her hand silencing him immediately.

"Shh, let me have this..." she begs, moving her fingers and diving into kissing him again as she gets his belt free.

Quickly Ruby has his jeans undone and falling to the floor while she breaks their kiss to pull his long sleeved undershirt over his head, leaving him in nothing but his boxers and socks, before tearing off her tops and revealing that she was braless the whole day, the idea of her being topless while being helped into a wedding dress by a stranger turning him on more than he would have expected.

She's quickly stepping out of her jeans, showing that she's wearing the sapphire French knickers she'd worn that first day they were together, adding to his arousal and making him achingly hard, he steps out of his jeans and when he goes to pick them up she pulls him in for a kiss instead, leading him away from his pile of clothes and into the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom Ruby takes hold of Quinn's boxer briefs and slowly lowers them, taking her time to kneel and take them off him completely, followed by his socks leaving him completely naked.

She looks up at him and smiles, her eyes flicking to his erect cock which is bobbing next to her face before she reaches up and grasps it gently, slowly stroking along its length and enjoying its heat in her hand before leaning in and very softly licking over the slit, tasting Quinn's unique flavour.

"Oh god Ruby yes!" He gasps out, only just stopping himself from grabbing her head and forcing her mouth down over his length.

"Is that right? I've never done this this way before, never had any choice or control, I need you to guide me..." she tells him licking him again, this time around the edge of the helmet, finishing with a tongue flick to the underside of the head.

"God, yes you've got it right, and as nice as it is it's not what I was expecting tonight" Quinn answers, slowly running his fingers into her hair and stroking her temple with his thumb.

"What is it you do want?" She asks looking upset.

"Hey! I never said I didn't want this! Just that it wasn't what I was expecting, I thought we could have a shower and make love slowly tonight, just really take our time exploring each other's bodies, but if this is what you want then I'm more than happy to oblige!" Quinn tells her, stroking her face on both sides now.

"Well how about you let me explore you like this a little bit before our shower and then we can carry on the way you wanted afterwards?" Ruby proposes, still slowly stroking his length.

"That's a great idea except for one thing, I _really_ wanna shower before you have your nose too close to my body, it was a long sweaty hike and I know I smell bad, can I have a rain check on this? Maybe save it for our wedding night?" He offers, Ruby accepting his wishes even though she doesn't think he smells bad at all.

"Ok, just don't be surprised when I demand this on our wedding night, ok?" She agrees, licking up his length from root to tip before rising from her knees and kissing him gently.

"Am I gonna need some viagra for our wedding night? Because it's gonna take me a while between each go otherwise" he asks her, only half joking.

"Only if you want to, I'm happy to wait between 'go's' and spend the time kissing and caressing you, if that's ok with you?" She replies, reaching down and fondling his testicles.

"That's totally fine with me, in fact I'm pretty sure i'd prefer it" he answers, reaching up to caress her breasts.

"So what do you wanna do now?" She asks him, letting him take the lead in their lovemaking.

"Well to be honest I wanna pick you up while you've got those sexy shorts on and make love to you while you're still wearing them..." he tells her, grabbing her ass cheek and pulling her hard against his groin.

"I thought you wanted to shower first?" Ruby asks while rubbing herself against him, letting him know she was up for it either way.

"I do, that's the dilemma, because I don't think I can resist..." he answers as he picks her up, Ruby immediately wrapping her legs around his waist while he pushes her against the wall and kisses her hotly, grinding against her all the while.

"Oh! That feels so good, please don't stop!" She sighs out into his ear, scratching the back of his shoulder when his cockhead slides along the length of her clit through the thin silk, encouraging him to just take her straight away since that's what she wants.

"Yes, Ru, yes! Gonna take you, now, like this" he tells her quietly, gently reaching down and pulling the silk slightly to one side, just enough to uncover her opening, allowing him to very slowly slide himself in, being very careful in case he needs to stop, but tonight is a good night and he slides all the way in with no problem.

"Aaahhhhh!" He sighs out as he bottoms out, before leaning in and kissing her lovingly as he makes his first thrust into her, taking his time and using his full length to slide out then back into her again.

"Oh, Sean! Please, not just gently, want you to really _**Take**_ me!" She whispers right into his ear before biting the shell of it.

"You... ah!.. you sure?" He asks, the sensation of her squeezing down on his dick stealing his breath for a moment.

"I'm sure, it's what I _need_ from you" she answers him before leaning in to kiss him animalistically.

As she's kissing him he pushes harder against her so she's plastered to the wall and starts to thrust harder, he doesn't speed up yet, just goes deeper and harder, making sure his dick rubs her clit on every move.

"That what you want?" He asks after a minute of her clawing at the back of his neck and shoulders while she gasps at every thrust.

"Oh! Oh yes! Can you go faster? I wanna cum!" She begs, clamping down on him and making him lose control a little.

"Ru! Always so fucking _tight_ for me! Love making love to you, giving you pleasure!" He tells her in a growl as he speeds up his thrusts slowly.

"Mmmm, best feeling in the world, having you loving me!" She replies before kissing him again as he continues to speed up.

As he gets faster she starts tightening down on him more and more, driving him mad with the friction on the rim of the head of his cock, and he's worried he's not going to manage to outlast her, but he doesn't want to cum before showering, he wants to be able to carry on pleasuring her after they're in bed, but nothing could stop him from bringing her off now, no matter what he was going to have her scream his name as she cums.

"Sean, _please_... stroke my clit, make me cum!" She begs, obviously nearing the edge but not tipping over from just him thrusting within her, most likely because of the lack of foreplay this time he thinks.

He quickly adjusts his grip and frees one hand to slide it down between their bodies until he can reach her clit, which when he strokes it jumps against his fingers, he quickly wraps a finger around its shaft and starts to stroke, timing each stroke to a thrust of his hips so she receives double the stimulation, hopefully making it better for her.

"Oh!... oh!.... OH!... SEAN!" She gasps out, her muscles tightening down on him so hard he feels like she's trying to force him out of her body, even as she pulls him closer and kisses him hard and passionately.

Once their kiss breaks and Ruby catches her breath she asks "Sean? Are you not going to cum?" As he is still slowly thrusting into her but showing no sign of cumming any time soon.

"Not yet, later, once we're in bed, I want to pleasure you more first, explore your body some more" he answers before leaning in for a slow, sweet kiss as he pulls out of her body.

"C'mon lets shower" Quinn says, putting Ruby down and then leading her into the shower.

Once in the shower they wash each other while trading slow kisses and cuddles, slowly stroking over each other's bodies until they are both clean of the day, then get out and get dried before Quinn leads Ruby to the bed by the hand and tucks her in before going to his own side of the bed, getting in and pulling her to him, kissing her softly and slowly, showing her the love he feels for her.

"This okay?" He asks as he slides his hand around the back of her neck and gently pulls her in for a kiss, taking his time to slide his tongue into her mouth and caress her willing tongue allowing the kiss to become a little more passionate as she slides her tongue into his mouth.

When their kiss finally ends she gets to answer him "of course it's okay, it's what I want, to be with you and loved by you whilst loving you in return, kiss me again?"

While they kiss she shuffles her body forwards until she is pressed up against his front, not trying to rush him but just to feel close to him, however it is hard to ignore his hot erection pressing against her damaged mound, even though he has done nothing to pressure her about it.

"Is that for me?" She asks, using an 'innocent' sounding voice.

"Nnnnooooo, it's for that pixie sat in the corner of the room" he answers teasingly, breaking into a laugh when she turns to look having not fully realising what he said.

"Oh, you!" She exclaims hitting him lightly on the chest as he tightens his arms around her and pulls her in for a kiss.

"I should make you sleep on the couch for that!" She adds when they separate, squirming against him, doing nothing to free herself but everything to turn him on more.

"You wouldn't do that to me would you gorgeous? C'mere..." he asks, slowly pulling her tighter against his chest before adding "I love you" and kissing her tenderly.

At his kiss she melts against him, her body moulding against his as their kiss deepens until he slowly rolls her onto her back and starts to rub against her while playing with her breast.

"Your skin is always so soft, love to stroke and caress you, can't keep my hands off you..." he whispers, immediately leaning down to kiss her again, loving the taste of her lips, before moving down her body and taking her nipple into his mouth, sucking and playing with it with his tongue while his fingers play with the other one.

After a few minutes of this treatment and Ruby arching up underneath him to meet his mouth she gasps out "come here... wanna kiss you" pulling him back up to her level and kissing him slowly, as she does she reaches down and grasps his hard cock, and just as slowly strokes along it, feeling his full length before reaching further and gripping his balls, just a little too tightly, making him gasp.

"Sorry, did I grab too hard?" She whispers, letting go and stroking over them soothingly as he rolls them onto their sides.

"It's ok, you just squeezed the tiniest bit too tight is all, I'm fine" he answers, resuming their kiss as she continues to stroke and caress him, after a short while he takes hold of her hand, showing her how he likes to be touched and caressed, the best ways to move and where to be gentler or stroke harder.

"Do I have this right now?" She asks after a time, by now stroking his full length in long thorough moves, making sure to twist around the edge of the head to give him the most sensation.

"Yeah, Ru you have it perfect, but now here, show me how you like to be touched best..." he answers, taking hold of her hand and bringing it towards her own genitals.

"I can't" she says, tears in her voice as she pulls back a little from him "I love the way you touch me already, you don't need me to show you anything..."

"What? There's nothing you like that I haven't tried or done quite right? That can't be right, please show me how you like to be touched?" He answers, quite thrown by her answer to his request.

" _I CAN'T_!!... I don't know what I like apart from what you've done to me! I've never liked anything _he_ ever did, it all hurt! and I've never been with anyone else so I have no idea!" She tells him, a tear running down her face at her confession.

"Oh Ruby! It doesn't have to be something someone else did to you, what about when you touch yourself? There must be things you like to do then? Please don't cry, love" he asks her feeling so guilty for upsetting her as he holds her against himself.

"Until last night I hadn't ever touched myself, when I did while you were watching was the first time, I never wanted to touch myself before, why would I want to? To be reminded of something that hurt so much? I thought sex always had to hurt like that! Until I met you..." she informs him making him feel so sad for her that she's lived in pain and fear so long.

"You'll never be hurt like that again, I promise, and how about we learn together what you like?" He offers, stroking down her spine to comfort her.

"I know I'll always be safe with you, I've known it since the moment I saw you, and I would love to learn what I like with you, but... but not tonight okay? Tonight I just want to be with you now... if that's okay?" She asks, needing to feel his closeness and to feel safe and protected by him.

"Anything you want darling, we'll save that for another night, here, roll onto your back while I kiss you" he replies, gently pushing her back onto her back before moving so he's laying over her again, she instantly parts her legs for him, bending her knees and having him laying in the cradle of her thighs.

As he moves so his pelvis is in line with hers he moves his arms, the one under her he moves so his hand is between her shoulder blades just at the base of her neck and his other hand is in her hair with his elbow pointing out to the side, as soon as he's comfortable he moves his hips, rubbing the swollen head of his cock between her labia rubbing over her wet entrance and slicking himself so when his head rubs over her clit there's no friction just a smooth caress to each of them.

"Oh! Ruby, you're so wet for me! How did I get a woman so _perfect_ for me? I don't deserve you, but I'm so glad I found you!" He tells her before kissing her softly and moving his cock back down to her entrance, slowly rubbing around the edge a few times before gently nudging in between her inner lips and entering her slowly.

"Sean, please, yes!" She whispers to him, again sounding on the verge of tears, but he thinks this time it might be tears of happiness, as she gasps in a breath he pushes further into her, expecting at any second to hit a wall of muscle because she's been so upset, she must have tightened down, but he's shocked when he bottoms out without that happening, he can feel where those muscles are, they're massaging his shaft perfectly, but they have barely tightened at all, and he hopes this is a sign that it may happen less from now on.

"Ruby! always feel so _perfect_ for me!" He tells her, kissing her quickly before taking a gasping breath and starting to move, slowly and gently at first, showing her his love for her and how safe with him she always will be.

"Love you Ru, want to give you everything you want" he whispers, after a time his thrusts start to speed up as she brings her legs up and around him, hooking her feet together behind his waist to help keep herself in place.

"Love you too Sean, love making love with you, never want you to stop!" She whispers back as she tightens down on him, making him go cross-eyed with pleasure even while still thrusting into her.

"Ah! There! Do that again!" She demands as he thrusts into her _just_ right, making all of her nerve endings _sing_ , so he thrusts into her the same way again, repeating the move over and over until her panting almost sounds like quiet screaming.

"Ru? You ok sweetheart?" He asks, not wanting to slow down or stop because it feels like she's on the verge of orgasm but worried by the sound she's making.

"Perfect..., feels perfect..., don't stop!... wanna cum!" She answers between pants, reassuring him that he's not hurting her, so he speeds up, keeping the same position and movement, just getting faster and a little harder, but if she gets much tighter he thinks he might have to stop even if neither of them want him to.

As he continues thrusting into her he begins to feel his balls draw up, knowing he's getting close but knowing that he's not going to be cumming as soon as she is by the feel of her tightening pulses around him.

"Oh! Sean! Gonna,... gonna... aaahhhh!" She calls out before clamping down on him with both her inner muscles and her teeth, biting around his collarbone as her muscles cut off his ability to cum they're so tight.

Just as he goes to thrust again, so close to cumming himself she cries out "please stop! I'm sore!" Making him instantly pull out of her, but he's closer than he thought, only her muscles had been stopping him from cumming and when he pulls back and then lays over her he spills all over her mound and stomach, so hard it's painful, making him gasp.

"Oh! If i'd known you were so close I wouldn't have asked you to stop!" Ruby says while he holds himself over her, still shaking from the intensity of his orgasm.

"It's ok, I didn't know I was so close either, but if you're hurting I wanna know, not have you put up with it so I can get mine, okay?" He asks as he slowly lowers himself over her, shivering in over stimulation.

"I promise, but you know stop doesn't mean pull out, it just means give me a few seconds for my nerve endings to calm down before you carry on, if you had done it that way I might have cum again!" She tells him, letting him know he doesn't always have to treat her as fragile.

"I'm sorry, it's just you said you were sore and I didn't want to make it worse, I don't wanna hurt you because I love you!" He tells her, tipping her head so he can kiss her passionately.

"I love you too" she answers when their kiss ends before adding "lets get this cleaned up!" Making him climb off the bed and go to the bathroom, quickly returning with a warm washcloth to clean her off before she quickly heads to the bathroom to do a more thorough job.

When she returns she slides into the bed next to him, cuddling over until her head is on his shoulder, wrapping her arm across his waist and hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry" she says quietly.

"What are you saying sorry for?" He asks frowning.

"For biting you like that, when I was such a bitch about it when you bit me..." she confesses.

"You weren't a bitch, you just don't like it because it brings back bad memories, I understand, but you don't need to apologise, I quite like to be bitten, so long as it's only occasionally..." he tells her, giving her a squeeze.

"Thank you" she whispers.

"What for?" He asks perplexed by this.

"For loving me and our two girls, we couldn't wish for anyone better" she tells him making him blush a little.

"You don't ever have to thank me for that, it's my honour to love you all" he replies before adding "now c'mon time to sleep, I'll see you in the morning alright?"

"Alright, goodnight Sean, I love you" she says snuggling in tighter.

"Goodnight Ruby, I love you too" he answers squeezing her shoulders before settling down to sleep.

JAYDA/ELIOT

When dinner was in the oven Eliot and Jayda come and sit on one of the couches together, talking quietly and exchanging kisses while they cuddle, after a while Wahya comes over to them looking for pets and scratches, which he receives along with lots of praise from both of them, just as he loses interest and heads back to sit with Sarah on the snuggle armchair Eliot's phone rings.

"Hello?" He answers, for once not growling.

"Hey E, how you guys doing?" Hardison asks sounding over cheerful as usual, but even this is not enough to start Eliot growling he's in such a good mood.

"We're fine, what are you guys doin' and do I need to rescue you?" He asks, expecting this to be the 'we're in over our heads' call.

"No brah! No rescue needed, we met with the client and it really does just seem like it's a hacking job, just wanted to ask some advice, if you're not too busy?" Alec explains, making Eliot wonder what's going to happen next.

"I'm not too busy, what's up?" He asks, dreading the answer.

"Well here's the thing, what with all the people around us getting married it's made me wonder and so I've decided I'm going to ask Parker to marry me some time in the next say... six months... and I was wondering, what do you think she'd like better, a ring I stole or one I bought with stolen money? I want to get this right..." he asks sounding more nervous than Eliot had ever heard.

"Steal the ring, definitely, she'll find that really romantic, specially if you have to use a rig to get it" Eliot tells him surely, absolutely no doubt in his mind about it.

"You're sure?" Hardison checks.

"I'm sure, how are you gonna ask?" Eliot asks him, dying to be in on the secret.

"I figured half way down the Eiffel Tower maybe? I know she loves the view from there" he replies, making Eliot grin.

"You know she likes the view when she abseils down it right? It's the ropes not the view she really likes" Eliot tells him just to hear him try to deny it.

"Yeah I know, that's why I'll be asking as we abseil down it" he answers leaving Eliot speechless.

"Hey? You still there man?"Hardison asks when he gets no reply.

"Wha... but... yeah I'm here, you're really serious then? Well good luck, let me know when you're gonna do it ok? And keep me informed on the job!" Eliot answers.

"Yeah man no problem! I gotta go she's coming in, talk to you later!" Hardison promises before hanging up, leaving Eliot staring at his phone thinking 'what the hell...'.

"What was that all about?" Jayda asks, seeing the confused look on his face.

"Apparently inspired by Quinn gettin' married Hardison is wantin' to propose to Parker, he wanted to know if she'd prefer a stolen ring or a bought ring, and then he told me that he's gonna propose while abseilin' down the Eiffel Tower with her, I'm gobsmacked!" He explains, still not believing it even as he says the words.

"I thought he hates abseilin'?" She asks remembering one of the stories Eliot told her.

"He does, that's part of the reason I'm so gobsmacked!" Eliot answers.

"Well then I think that's really romantic, doin' sumthin' like that just because she loves it so he can make her proposal special, she's a lucky girl!" Jayda tells Eliot, making him wonder if his plans for their anniversary are romantic enough.

"Actually, talkin' about engagements, there's sumt..." Jayda starts before Eliot speaks over her.

"Can we not talk about this right now? Not with Sarah right there? Thanks darlin'" Eliot almost demands before pulling her in for a kiss, making Jayda worry he regrets wearing the ring but doesn't know how to tell her.

"Hey weren't you gonna call your dad about painkillers for Sarah?" Eliot asks to change the subject.

"Oh! yeah, I forgot! I'll just go call him now..." she says getting up from the sofa, before being pulled back down as she goes to walk away, this time down onto Eliot's lap where he wraps her in his arms and says "I love you, you're my Mate, I'm yours forever, you don't need to worry about anythin' else ok? I want to be with you, always" trying to reassure her that he belongs to her and she has nothing to worry about.

"I know, I love you too, so much, but you need to let me go so I can call dad ok?" She answers before leaning in and gently kissing him.

When their kiss ends he says "how am I supposed to let you go when you kiss me like that?" Making her smile.

"because you won't get another until after I've called dad, so let me up!" She answers smirking, Eliot putting her on her feet immediately so she can go make her phone call.

When she comes back she has a very serious look on her face worrying Eliot a lot.

"What's wrong? Is your dad ok?" He asks, concerned for the man who had been more like a father to him than his own.

"He's ok but last night one of the wolves was brought into the hospital, he'd been caught in a silver coated snare too, but he was caught around the neck, it's left him on a ventilator it cut so deep into his neck, dad says the Elder Council is meetin' tomorrow night to decide what to do about it, and he wants to tell them about you bein' a True Alpha, if you agree, he thinks they need to know... I'm sorry, I know that's not what you wanted..." she tells him, knowing he doesn't want to lead the tribe Pack but not seeing another option, this was after all exactly what the True Alpha is _for_.

"Ok, if he feels he's gotta tell them then he's gotta do what he thinks is right, either way I'm gonna catch the motherfucker and make him hurt for what he did to bug and Wahya, but now with this other poor were as well I'm even more determined, at least this way I get the Pack to help me, what did he say about painkillers for Sarah?" Eliot says making sure Jayda understands how important it is to him to catch this 'hunter'.

"Oh! I almost forgot! He says he'll bring some other painkillers over and leave them on the table if we're out runnin' still, he can let himself in with his key, do you think it's safe to run tonight?" She asks worried that one of them may be hurt again.

"I don't know, I don't even know if Sarah will be able to run, she might have to stay here while we go out... in fact I like that idea better, at least then we know her and Wahya are safe" he answers, making a good point about Sarah's injury.

"Now C'mere you promised me more kisses!" He tells her as he grabs her wrist and pulls her towards him before sitting her in his lap and turning her to face him.

"Mmmm, always feel so good when you're sat on me" he says rubbing against her ass as he holds her still, his quickly hardening dick rubbing against her lips.

"Oh! You always feel so good under me!" She whisper-squeaks back to him before kissing him slowly but passionately, finishing the job of getting him to full hardness.

"Gods I want you, but we can't right now... while we run?" He asks between kisses.

"Yes, I want to feel your knot in me again!" She whispers directly into his ear, making his cock twitch underneath her.

At her words he growls in arousal, pulling her in for a dominance filled kiss, making her press against him and wrap her arms around his neck.

Just then the timer on the oven buzzes letting them know they have five minutes until dinner is ready, making Eliot curse because he'll have to walk around dealing with dinner with yet another unfulfilled erection.

"Dammit, ok Jay, up, I've gotta get dinner served, you wake Sarah ok?" He asks, moving Jayda off his lap and standing to head for the kitchen.

"Sarah? Hey bug! C'mon time for dinner, do you think you'll be up to runnin' tonight or does your leg hurt too much?" Jayda asks her daughter once she's awake.

"Still hurts mommy, just wanna Change and snuggle with Wahya! Don't think I can run" she answers, looking unhappy and whining slightly "will you and daddy snuggle with us for a while before you go out runnin'? Please?" She goes on to ask.

"Course we will sweetheart, we'd love to spend some time cuddled up with you two pups before we go run" Jayda answers, finding that she doesn't seem to be able to say no when Sarah whines, unknowingly having the same weakness as Eliot.

"Grandpa is bringin' you some new medicine for your leg tonight so you should feel better soon ok?" Jayda tells her in an effort to cheer her up which seems to work.

"When is he comin' over?" sarah asks excitedly.

"A little bit after dinner, so we'll stay here cuddlin' up until he arrives ok?" Jayda tells her, bringing a smile to her face.

Just then Eliot brings over three glasses of water, bringing one for Sarah even though he knows she still has a half pint of juice because he knows she's gonna be thirsty, once he's set them down he goes back to the kitchen and starts to serve up dinner while Jayda helps Sarah sit up and get comfortable.

"What's for dinner mommy?" She asks while she takes a deep breath in through her nose trying to tell by the smell.

"It's a surprise, daddy made it specially for you, so make sure you thank him okay?" Jayda answers, saying the last part very quietly.

"Ok mommy, I will". Sarah whispers back, hoping dinner is something she actually _likes_.

After a few minutes of waiting Eliot brings over the plates and hands them out, Sarah seeing that he's made what she asked for that very first time, vegetarian lasagne and homemade garlic bread, both of her parents have some salad too but she doesn't and she knows it's because she told him she wasn't keen on salad.

"Daddy! You made my favourite! And you didn't make me have any salad! Thank you!" She says diving into her meal enthusiastically as Eliot and Jayda smile to each other and watch.

Once the meal is eaten and the dishes are in the dishwasher Eliot turns to Jayda in the kitchen asking "how's her leg doin'? Is she gonna be runnin' with us tonight?" As they stand close together with their arms around each other.

"She says it hurts too much to run, she wants us all to curl up as wolves and cuddle for a while until dad gets here, then we'll go for a run while she stays curled up with Wahya once she's had some painkillers" Jayda explains before leaning up to kiss him softly.

"You gonna leave your dad a note or Change back when he arrives?" Eliot asks, making Jayda think for a moment before deciding "I'll write a note, make sure she's safe while we're out..." and kissing him again.

"You keep doin' that and I'm gonna be very embarrassed when we Change" he warns her as she feels his cock hardening against her lower stomach.

"Well why don't you get Sarah Changed and Change yourself and I'll write the note ok?" She offers, trying to spare his metaphorical blushes.

So Eliot goes and gets Sarah undressed before he takes off his ring, sweater and jeans, folding and placing everything on the table and getting Jayda to remove the dressings from his burns and removing her splint from her arm before joining Sarah and settling into his Change, ending with a full body shake once he's on four feet before coming over to Jayda while Sarah goes and lays in front of the fire, she thinks he's looking to be petted so starts caressing his ears gently, but he quickly moves closer to her where she is bent over the table writing her note, and she quickly realises he's trying to get at her crotch, snuffling and trying to press in harder.

"Eliot! What are you doin'? Stop it! Once I've Changed you can sniff at me all you like but not now, let me write this note!" She hisses, grabbing his ruff and hauling him away from herself as gently as she can, at which he backs away and lays down, looking up at her as if ashamed of what he's done.

*what was all that about?* she asks him through the Bond, getting an image of wolves grooming each other and what she can only describe as the _feeling_ of a smell, something so enticing it cannot be ignored, and she knows that it was the smell of her that smelt that way to him.

She quickly writes her note for her father and comes over to the table, bringing a pair of blankets for when they were done and Changed back, Eliot had fed the fire and Wahya before Changing himself and everything was now ready so that she could Change.

Once she's undressed and Changed she trots over to Eliot and Sarah, Eliot immediately turning to her and starting to groom her while she licks over Sarah's inflamed ankle, trying to give some comfort to her pup.

She's just getting ready to move and lay down when Eliot licks over her entrance, making her jump and turn to face him, growling low in her chest, she liked him doing it she just didn't want him to in front of Sarah, he tilts his head looking at her and then sends her a picture over the Bond of wild wolves grooming each other like that in front of pups and other wolves, followed by one of wolves mating in front of others, along with the feeling of 'so what?' She just shakes her head at him and sits down with Sarah, her tail firmly over the area so he can't do it again, he rolls his eyes but accepts her order and lays down himself on Sarah's other side while Wahya lays in front of her licking her muzzle a few times to comfort her.

They lay there all curled up together for quite some time until suddenly the door opens and a snow-covered Diwali enters the house, Jayda getting up and coming over to him, gripping his coat cuff gently and pulling him over to the table where he sees the note, he looks down at her and says "I see your note daughter, you can let go now" at which she instantly releases his sleeve, he then picks up the note to read it.

Dad,

We've Changed ready to run but Sarah wanted us all to have a cuddle until we went out, she doesn't feel up to running tonight as her leg hurts too much, we were wondering if maybe you could stay with her while we run, just so we know she's safe?  
She had a dose of the painkillers I already had at about six so give her a dose of what you've got for her when the time is right, is that ok?

Thanks dad, love you!

Diwali turns to look down at Jayda and says "of course I'll sit with her, and thank you for letting me know about the meds, I'll explain the new ones when you've Changed back, ok?"

Jayda nods carefully then goes back over to Eliot, Sarah and Wahya, nudging Eliot with her nose to get him to get up and rubbing jaws with Sarah and Wahya to show them affection each, noticing that Wahya's scent has _changed_ somehow but not being able to put her finger on how.

Once this is done and Eliot has given Sarah's nose a lick of affection they head to the back door which Diwali opens for them and closes behind them as they set off across the clearing to the woods.


	40. Wild love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayda and Eliot run alone together for the first time, Jayda gets injured and Eliot does something he doesn’t want to because he can’t refuse Jayda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, even though I haven’t finished the chapter I’m writing I decided to post this chapter in honour of the fact that I JUST GOT TICKETS FOR CHRISTIAN KANE ON HIS ONLY UK GIG THIS YEAR!!! (I just hope their wheelchair seating is at the front!)
> 
> EDIT - I’m also going to the ONE MORE SHOT weekend (courtesy of my hubby for my 40th birthday on jan 23rd), meaning I’ll be meeting him and getting photos and autographs with him, WOOOO!!!  
> I am one lucky bitch!
> 
> So I haven’t slept for 36 hours and I’m bouncing like I’ve mainlined 100 gallons of red bull so you get this massive chapter!
> 
> I hope y' like it y'all
> 
> Enjoy darlin's!

ELIOT/JAYDA

Jayda leads the way out across the clearing, then before they reach the trees she stops and turns to face Eliot, sending a mind movie of wolves chasing each other to him with a sense of inquiry, asking if he wants to chase her again, he sends back the end of their chase from the night before from his point of view with a wave of sexual excitement so strong it makes her bend forward with her ass in the air, presenting for him.

As she does he comes around behind her and licks over her entrance, when she doesn't pull away from him he licks again, more firmly this time as though trying to force his tongue inside of her, making her whine at the sensation.

Eliot continues to lick at her until her natural lubricant starts to drip out of her, scenting the air around her with her pheromones and the scent of her sexual excitement and willingness to mate, turning him on even more, making the tip of his shaft peek out of his sheath, dripping with precum, the scent of which is turning her on even more.

As she turns and tries to lick at the head of his shaft he sends her the thought of wolves running again, begging her for what he needs, she stops trying to lick at him and looks him in the eye before heading for the woods at breakneck speed, but this time having every intention to let Eliot catch her quickly as she knows they're both turned on plenty already.

As they run, Eliot just behind Jayda but not able to catch up that last bit, Jayda turns to the left, but her ankle twists underneath her with a loud _crack_ and she ends up rolling to a stop in the snow, immediately Eliot is there, licking at her muzzle and checking she's conscious, she licks back at him and nips his ear telling him not to worry as she works her way onto her feet, then turns on the spot so her tail end is to him and presents again, begging him to Mate her as she wags her tail in the air.

Eliot thinks for a moment, worrying about the crack he heard but his wolf has other ideas and quickly comes up behind her, snuffling and licking at her entrance before climbing over her until he's in the right position, gripping her ribs with his front legs before bringing his back legs up against hers tightly, his cock sliding out of his sheath to hang hot and swollen in the cold air.

He immediately starts thrusting up against her, his thick, slick, member sliding over the fur at the back of her thighs, his tip prodding at her until he feels her wetness, her open entrance begging to be Mated by him, he pushes into her as soon as he feels it, sliding into his Home, feeling the three rings inside her sliding down the front and sides of his sensitive length, making him bite at the back of her neck it's so intense.

Once he's in her up to the front wall of his knot he pauses, expecting the feeling of 'Home' he always gets when he first enters her but this time the sensation is muted as though being felt through an anaesthetic, he frowns for a second before his wolf nudges his mind, telling him it's because he's not doing it right, making Eliot frown more, he's never had trouble doing the things his wolf nature wants but this is like being the rope in a tug of war, his human mind is saying stay still while his wolf is saying push forward and he doesn't know which is right, then he realises... he's trying to be a man while he's being a wolf, it'd be like insisting that meat had to be cooked when eating a rabbit he caught as a wolf, when he's a wolf he doesn't care if it's cooked because it's his wolf's nature to eat it how it comes, meat is meat, so when he's being a wolf and Mating with Jayda he needs to do what the wolf says is right because mating as a wolf is not the same as making love as a man, his body reacts differently and his wolf knows what to do by instinct.

Luckily this realisation passes through his mind in seconds and he does what he finally knows is right, he pushes into her all the way, his as yet small knot sliding into her easily and resting just past her piercings, finally giving him the feeling of Home he was looking for.

After a couple of moments he begins thrusting into her, his knot rubbing over her rings giving her wonderful stimulation as well as the feeling of his knot entering and exiting her body stimulating all the nerves around her entrance, quickly she begins panting heavily and before his knot is even half inflated she's howling into the night air, announcing her orgasm for all the woods to hear before bending even further forward, her chest laid on the snow while her ass is so high in the air he's nearly worried she might topple over forwards without meaning to, but he carries on thrusting into her, occasionally stepping forward to make sure he's still tight against her.

Soon his knot starts catching on her entrance, his size making it hard to enter and exit her as his knot comes close to being fully inflated and she starts to whimper and whine at the feeling of a second orgasm approaching, but feeling like the stimulation she's getting isn't quite right, a feeling she's unconsciously sending through the Bond to Eliot, making him try harder to find some way to stimulate her more.

Once his knot is fully inflated he keeps thrusting the little he can hoping the stimulation will bring them both to orgasm but there is something still missing and he gets frustrated quickly, he can only thrust an inch and as great as the feel of her and her piercings are he needs her to cum so that she tightens down and brings him over the edge, just as he huffs in desperation his wolf nudges his mind again, this time telling him to do something that sounds _excruciatingly_ painful, but he's learned his lesson so he does what his wolf tells him, he brings both left legs over her body and turns until they're tail to tail, putting a huge amount of pressure on his knot where it's pulling against her entrance which is too tight for him to slip out, and as he comes to settle facing away from her and pulls away from her slightly she yelps then howls, even louder and longer than the first time, before tightening down on him amazingly hard, throwing him into his orgasm, making him spurt inside of her at such high pressure she actually feels it hit her internal walls.

Once his orgasm has passed and he's only spurting occasionally he turns back again, his knot still locked inside of her, and lays over her, grooming the fur on her neck where he had bitten her before moving on to nuzzling and licking her muzzle, sending her constant pictures of cartoon hearts over the Bond to tell her that he loves her, rubbing his face against hers all the while.

After a time Eliot pulls back and slides out of her, quickly getting to his feet and coming to sit behind where she's laid before bending forward and licking at her, cleaning her up before their run back to the house and getting a fix of that addictive taste, them, together, Mates, once he's got her as clean as possible, even going so far as to have forced his tongue into her as far as possible, more than once, until she was completely clean, he comes and nudges her with his nose telling her to get up, but in response she sends him a picture of him laying in the snow letting her lick him clean through the Bond, accompanied by a feeling of demand, letting him know this was not optional.

He stands looking down at her, his brows furrowed together but knows that he's never going to change her mind since it's made up so he may as well just give in, so he lays in front of her and lifts his top back leg, giving her access to his sheath and her prize it hides.

Quickly she leans forwards and licks firmly over the opening of his sheath, pushing it back just a little so the tip of his cock is brushed by her tongue, the stimulation adding to his growing arousal at what she's doing, it's not like he's never licked himself as a wolf, hell as a teenager it was a _constant_ temptation while his hormones were rioting, but this is different, the feel of her licking at him is so different to oral sex as a human and this is the first time this has been done to him by someone else, and the trust he's showing her by allowing her sharp teeth so near to him are making the feelings even more intense because of the adrenaline rush.

As she continues to lick at him he becomes more aroused until he hardens completely which forces his cock out of its sheath, and as much as he's enjoying this he's pretty sure it's not going to get him off, but he wants her again now and he knows they haven't really got time because Diwali is waiting for them but he just can't resist, he pushes to his feet and paces around until he's behind her, licking her entrance again before nudging at her with his nose, trying to encourage her to lift her ass and present for him again, she looks over her shoulder at him with one eyebrow raised, not completely sure what he wants but quickly getting an idea when she sees his dick hanging hard out of its sheath, the knot already slightly swollen.

When she realises he wants her again she hesitates, as much as she wants to feel his knot in her again she's pretty sure they should be heading back, but she can smell his arousal, both in his scent and the smell of his hot precum dripping into the snow from the tip of his erect cock and she just can't deny him or herself, so she lifts her ass and moves her tail aside for him allowing him entrance to her body.

He quickly mounts her, but notices that she keeps her chest in the snow and her front legs out flat in front of her rather than bracing on them like usual but he's too turned on to really think about it right now as he enters her fully, her tightness around his knot feeling perfect, making him whimper as he starts to thrust, no gentle or slow rhythm this time, just going as hard and as fast as he can, being truly animalistic for the first time while being with her.

Quickly she begins whining, the feel of him slamming over her piercings and the nerves around her entrance almost immediately bringing her to the edge because she's still so sensitive from their earlier coupling, as the feeling builds she decides to let him feel it and opens her side of the Bond further, while she only means to open it a little she doesn't have the control Eliot does yet and accidentally opens it all the way, boosting Eliot's level of sensation, bringing him to the edge but leaving him stuck there as he can't orgasm until his knot is fully expanded, making him whine even as she gets ready to howl with her orgasm, however he's surprised, as when he feels her tip over the edge he feels as though he orgasms too, making him howl, even though he knows he doesn't actually ejaculate, leaving him to continue thrusting into her chasing a second orgasm for each of them.

When his knot is fully inflated he pauses for a second wondering if he should turn again, but this time his wolf does what it did the first time they were together this way, he pulls back as far as he can before thrusting into her hard, he does this seven times until he hits her cervix head on and the sensation pushes them both over the edge, their howls harmonising into the night air together.

As Jayda lowers her ass down so that he can lay over her until his knot deflates he licks at her muzzle, sending a wave of concern over the bond to her, she sends back a feeling of contentment and bliss and licks at his nose while he settles over her, trying to dispel his concerns.

They lay there for a time, grooming what parts of each other they can reach and sending each other pictures over the bond as a type of conversation until Eliot is able to pull back out of her, he quickly comes behind her and licks her clean but with none of the slow, teasing licks he would usually use, when she indicates she wishes to return the favour he refuses, letting her know that it would just get them started again and they needed to get home to Sarah and Diwali, she sends him a wave of understanding disappointment and goes to stand, but then yelps loudly and drops back into the snow licking at her left front leg.

Observing this Eliot does something he really wishes he didn't need to and Changes back into his usual form, crouching next to Jayda's leg and feeling along the length of the leg from the foot up, he's just past the wrist/ankle joint when she yelps then growls at him, glaring at him menacingly.

"Look I know it hurts but you can't tell me what's wrong and I don't think you Changing back right now would be a good idea, so let me examine it ok? I'll be as gentle as I can be" Eliot tells her before very gently touching around the first inch above the joint.

"You've broken it, I think it might be due to damage from that manacle, do you think you can make it home on three legs? We're less than two miles from the house" Eliot asks her, she sends back a picture of a dog limping and slowly nods her head at him, he helps her to stay steady as she stands and then Changes back into his wolf form and leans up against her side to support her while they walk back to the house.

After somewhere between half an hour and three quarters of an hour they finally reach the house, Eliot letting out a loud bark to let Diwali know they need letting in, the Shaman quickly comes to the back door and opens it for the two wolves, frowning deeply when he sees Jayda holding one paw up as she walks.

Once the door is closed and both of the wolves have Changed back into human form and are wrapped in blankets Diwali asks "what happened? What's wrong with Jayda's wrist?" Of Eliot.

Eliot coughs and clears his throat to try and make himself more understandable and answers "we were runnin' and suddenly she fell with the sound of a loud crack, from what I could tell from examinin' it at the scene she's broken the bone just above the joint, I think it's because of the damage caused by the manacle they had her secured with, I was going to splint it for tonight and take her to the hospital in the mornin'" explaining as much as he knows to her father.

"Let me just check it, make sure it doesn't need manipulation before you splint it" Diwali says, leading a silently crying Jayda over to the couches with Eliot following behind after he's grabbed the splint and bandages off the table where they left them.

Once she's sat down Eliot sits behind her wrapping an arm around her waist in a comforting hug saying "I'm sorry you're hurt, but it's gonna be ok, do you have any painkillers here?"

"There are some in the medicine chest but I don't want any" she answers him with silent tears still rolling down her cheeks while her father kneels on the floor in front of her to examine her damaged hand.

"What? Why not? You're obviously in pain, it's what they're for" Eliot asks, not understanding why she wouldn't want pain relief.

"Because I can't be drugged and slow, there's someone out there tryin' to hurt us, I can't risk missin' sumthin' important because I was in a little bit of pain!" She tells him, using the exact same reasoning he would use if it was him, meaning he can't argue with her.

"But I'm here you wouldn't need to worry abo..." he starts trying to convince her anyway until she interrupts.

"I'm not takin' them, no arguments ok? Please?" She asks, obviously at the end of her control before shouting "OW!!! motherfucker!!" Breathlessly.

"I'm sorry Jayda, it was easier to just do it while you were distracted, the bone was slightly displaced, so I realigned it, you'll need the splint on tightish tonight and you've got to come see me at the emergency room tomorrow for X-rays and a cast, we'll X-ray your legs and feet again too to make sure they healed right, is the pain a little better now?" Diwali explains gently but firmly to his eldest daughter.

"The pain is a little better, we'll come to the hospital as soon as we know what time Ruby's comin' for Sarah, but I promise we'll come" she answers.

"Good, now one last thing, you _are_ going to take some Vicodin for the pain, I know all your arguments but you don't need to worry about any of them tonight because you have Eliot here to take care of everything, for once you don't _need_ to suffer, so you're not going to" her father tells her, getting up to go and get two pills out of the chest and bring them back to her with a glass of water "now do as you're told and take these" he adds, standing in front of her with his 'no arguments' look on his face until she gives in and takes them.

"Good girl, make sure you take another dose before coming to the hospital ok?, now, Sarah's medication is one packet every four hours at the most, leave it longer between doses if you can ok? She shouldn't need another until the morning but no earlier than four am if she wakes up and needs some, is there anything else either of you need?" Diwali instructs the lovers before perching on the end of the sofa while he waits for their replies.

"I don't think so..." Eliot answers while Jayda shakes her head, then she adds "thanks for watchin' Sarah while we went runnin' dad, I'm sorry we took so long..."

"It was no trouble, she only woke up when I woke her to give her painkillers, I think if i'd left her she'd have slept til morning, and I'm always happy to look after my grandchildren, remember that for the future" Diwali replies with a smile before saying "well I'll get home then, you two look out for each other and the young ones and I'll see you tomorrow" before going to the door and letting himself out, Eliot coming and locking the door behind him.

"Right give me this hand and we'll get the splint brace on it" he says, sitting in front of her on the sofa and holding his hands out to take hold of her hand and arm.

Gingerly she rests her arm on his hands, the already established bruise a nasty dark purple covering her entire wrist, down onto her hand and little finger and up about halfway along her forearm, and he's sure it's only so bad because A. She didn't let him know how bad it was when it happened and carried on to have sex, twice and B. she then Changed making the bones and muscles twist and change causing more damage, and he can't help feeling like it was his fault.

"Stop it!" She says to him looking at him with a concerned frown.

"Stop what? I didn't do anythin' yet!" He asks bewildered.

"Stop blamin' yourself, it's written all over your face, this was in no way your fault, it just hadn't healed enough f' me to be runnin' on it is all, it's no ones fault, ok?" She says, her words starting to slur ever so slightly at the end.

"Ok, lets get this on, I'm sorry in advance if I hurt you" he says, pulling the brace as wide as he can before slipping it around her arm and hand, making her moan in her throat as he releases it to press against her tender, bruised flesh.

"I'm sorry" he whispers, taking hold of the bandage and starting to wrap the brace firmly and tightly around the wrist before working to bandage the hand and then up the arm.

"'S 'Kay, y'dint't mean it..." she answers her head drooping down to rest on his shoulder heavily.

"You okay there darlin'?" He asks as he ties off the bandage and checks he hasn't tied it too tight.

"'M 'kay..." she answers leaning even heavier against him.

He huffs out through his nose, realising that because she never takes painkillers she has no tolerance to them and they've knocked her completely on her ass, he looks around the room, everything is safe and ready to be left for the night, so he stands up and picks Jayda up in his arms bridal style, she's awake enough to put her arms around his neck and snuggle her face into his neck but that's it so he slowly and carefully heads to the stairs.

Once he's made it up the stairs and into the bedroom he places her blanket wrapped form down in the middle of the bed so he can pull the covers back and tuck her in, but once he has her side of the bed ready and picks her back up without the blanket, ready to put into the bed she surprises him by taking hold of his head and kissing him passionately as he lays her back down, she doesn't let go of him once she's down though, she just deepens the kiss and pulls him down on top of her now naked body, making short work of divesting him of his own blanket.

"Jay! Wait! What are you doin'?" He asks when he manages to pull back between kisses.

"Kissin' y'... want y'..." she answers, keeping her broken arm around his neck and reaching down with the other, taking hold of his shaft and stroking it gently and teasingly.

"I want you too darlin' but you're not quite with it, I can't... ohhh!" he answers ending on a groan as she twists her hand giving him friction all the way around the head of his cock.

"But... need y'... please, love me, please..." she begs, kissing him again as she continues stroking him, making his hips thrust in reaction even though he's trying not to.

"Jay, darlin', I do love you but I can't..." he starts before she speaks over him.

"Please... need y' to love me... show me y' love me still..." she says, tears running down her face.

"I... Jay I shouldn't! You can't give consent when you're like this!" He tells her, hating to tell her no while she's crying because she needs his love so much.

"I love you so, so much, that's why I can't!" He goes on to finish, resting his forehead against her sternum, almost in tears himself because he feels so bad for rejecting her.

"Please, Eliot! I want y' t' make love to me, slowly like tha' first day in Portland, I give consent, I need y'! Please!" She cries to him, her arms squeezing around his head as she full out starts to cry.

"Shhhh, stop, Jayda it's ok, c'mere, I'll love you, it's ok, stop cryin'" he raises his head and whispers into her ear, not able to bare her crying, he just hopes she can forgive him for what he's going to do.

"Are you sure this is what you want? There's no doubt about it? You realise you're not with it?" He asks, praying to whoever will listen that she'll understand what he's asking and stop.

"I'm sure El! I want y', I need y' t' make love to me! Show me y' love me anyway, even though I'm ruined!" She begs, insisting he makes love to her even though she's drugged.

Just as he opens his mouth to ask her to promise she'll forgive him in the morning she leans up and kisses him passionately, using her tongue to tease at his gently, completely distracting him from what he was going to say.

When their kiss finally ends she lays back down and smiles up at him radiantly before stroking along his now hard length, making him moan her name raspily and thrust into her tight grip repeatedly, making him moan again.

"Jay!" He calls, manoeuvring over her and between her thighs, her hand letting go of his length to clamp onto his ass cheek and pull him in against her tighter so that she can feel his hardness against her mound while he kisses her again.

As he kisses her he brings his hand to her breast, quickly massaging the whole before narrowing his attention to the pierced nipple, rolling it between his fingers before twisting it and pulling on it, making her moan into their kiss throatily.

"Ah, Eliot! Y's! Touch me more, need y' t' touch me!" She gasps into his ear when they separate after their kiss, her broken arm then pulling him down to kiss her again, the passion between them burning brightly.

While kissing him Jayda brings her thighs up around his waist, locking her legs around his hips and pulling herself up to rub against his hardness frantically, making him moan into their kiss this time, his hand coming to grab her ass to support her while she rubs them together.

"Gods Jayda yes! Feels so good! Want you... can I take you darlin'? Make you mine again?" He gasps, the feel of the short hair on her mound rubbing against him driving him crazy with lust.

"Yes! Want y'... NEED Y' to! Please claim me!" She begs, her short nails digging into his ass firmly as she rubs her clit along his hard length, teasing them both.

"Grrr..." he growls out, biting over her bond scar hard while starting to thrust in time with her movements, rubbing even harder over her clit making her cry out.

"Oh! ...Oh! ...Eliot!" She cries, gushing over his cock and balls, covering them both in her cum as he gives her her first orgasm, and he can tell that she's going to have quite a few if he has any say in the matter.

"Jayda, Mate, darlin', love you so much" he rumbles into her ear, his voice making her melt against him and relax into the bed so that he can lay down over her and position himself properly before entering her and then raising up so he can have more leverage for his thrusts.

"Ah! Yes!" She cries as he breaches her, her entrance being hypersensitive after her orgasm "kiss me?" She begs, wanting affection as well as passion.

Immediately he leans down and claims her mouth, his tongue intruding into her mouth and duelling with her own, fighting for dominance, even as he begins thrusting into her gently.

She quickly tightens her legs around him, using them to pull herself up to meet him on every thrust, moaning into their kiss as the root of his dick rubs over her clit roughly with every thrust.

Eliot breaks their kiss so that he can gasp into her ear "Jayda, relax, lay back down on the bed for me ok? I wanna go slow and show you how much I love you and I can't like this" he tells her, laying her back down flat on the bed and laying over her heavily, only moving his hips enough to thrust into her gently and slowly, making sure to stimulate all the nerves around her opening as well as her gspot inside of her.

"Ah! El, yes! Love y' sooo much!" She cries out, her right hand scratching at the back of his shoulder and neck while her left arm stays immobile around his neck so as to not harm it further.

"Love you too darlin'" he answers, running one hand down the side of her face, then down her neck until he reaches her breast where he gently stimulates her nipple while he slowly and thoroughly kisses her.

When their kiss ends Eliot brings his knees up until they're on either side of her hips, sitting up onto his heels his hands go to her hips, holding her in place while he makes long, slow, rolling thrusts into her, after a few moments Jayda slowly brings her right hand to her nipple, looking up at him unsurely with her white/blue eyes and biting her lip in hesitation before slowly pulling at it and twisting it between her fingers, quickly she gains confidence and is abusing her nipples one at a time while he watches and learns how she really likes to be touched, all the while thrusting slowly but firmly into her making sure to grind against her every so often.

"Mmm, El, please! Make me cum!" She begs, obviously near her peak but unable to finish, at this Eliot pushes his thumb through her pubic hair until it slides between her lips and over the ring piercing her clit, he uses the pad of his thumb to press over the flesh wrapped around the ring, giving her stimulation where the nerves are rubbed against the metal, making her gasp then moan out "yes! Please! More, yes!" Encouraging his rubbing of her clit and his long deep thrusts into her.

Within a minute she's calling out between gasps for air "Eliot!... oh gods yes!... there, right there!... please! Gonna, gonna,... ahhh!" She yells as she tips over the edge, tightening down hard on his cock as she coats him in her juices, making him hurtle towards his own orgasm, but he doesn't want to cum yet, he wants her to feel totally loved first, so as she calms down and loosens around him he pulls out, kissing her before running his tongue down her body, giving kitten licks to all the spots he knows are sensitive.

"Mmmm, Eliot? Where are y' goin...Ah!" She asks, getting cut off by her own cry of pleasure as he licks over her clit firmly, making him growl in arousal against her sensitive lower lips, knowing he's giving her pleasure, he licks up the edges of her outer lips the tip of his tongue just skimming her inner lips making her squirm slightly.

"Stay still!" He growls at her, putting a touch of the Alpha into it as he tries to stop her from squirming with his arm across her pelvis, her broken hand laid over the middle of his forearm.

She stills immediately, allowing him to dip in and stroke over her inner lips more firmly with his tongue, burrowing between them to reach her entrance, her knees falling further apart at the feelings of pleasure he's giving her.

"Oh El!" She cries as he moves his arms to around her thighs, putting her knees over his shoulders meaning she can lift her hips up closer to his mouth, making it easier for him to get his tongue inside of her, sliding in and swirling around just inside her, tasting that intoxicating taste of them together, Mates, but this time the flavour is stronger, more gamey, more wild, and he knows it's the flavour of their wolves together, and that turns him on even more, making him rumble a growl deeply in his chest.

"Jayda-wolf, Mine!" He snaps out, biting her inner thigh with his extended teeth, making her cry out at the unexpected sensation.

"Ah! Ooohhh, wha' did y' do?" She asks in a tight voice, wondering what he just did to her leg, since she can't see because his head is in the way as he's gone back to licking at her entrance.

"I bit you" he growls against her, barely stopping lapping at her to answer before driving his tongue into her as far as he can repeatedly, making her arch up under his hands.

He uses his hands on her pelvic bone to force her hips back down onto the bed, moving his attention to her inner lips again, sucking them and playing with her piercings with his tongue before licking up between them to her clit, nibbling at it with sharpened teeth before laving over it with his tongue and sucking it hard.

With all this attention to her clit she starts to pant as he brings her closer to the edge of another orgasm, his sucking on her clit gets even harder when he hears her, knowing she's getting close, so he uses the tip of his tongue to pull at her ring, making her shout out as he then gently bites on either side of the metal.

"Oh! El! Gonna... ah!... ah!...AHHH!" She nearly screams as she flys over the edge, soaking his face in her cum as he licks at her hole again, trying to catch as much as possible on his tongue.

"Eliot! C'mere..." she begs, once she's caught her breath, trying to pull him up from between her thighs with a hand on the back of his neck, as he follows her wishes he kisses his way back up her body, purring all the while, letting her know how happy he is with her for enjoying herself.

"Jay, love you..." he tells her before kissing her, his lips slick against hers with her own juices.

"Mmmm, El, want y' t' fill me..." she replies sounding half asleep.

"I think you need to sleep more baby" he tells her stroking her forehead gently.

"No! Need us t' finish t'gether..." she demands in an upset tone of voice, making him think about how he can accommodate her wishes.

"I've got an idea, here roll onto your side..." he tells her, kissing her deeply before moving from on top of her allowing her to move as instructed.

"Wha' we doin'?" She asks as she rolls onto her side facing away from him.

"Gettin' you into a more comfortable position" he tells her while he snuggles up behind her.

"Is tha' for me?" She asks when she feels his hard cock rub up against her ass cheeks leaving a wet smear of his precum and her cum across them.

"Never for anyone else" he replies, rubbing his dick between her asscheeks slowly until he feels her hand grip his hip tightly.

"Please, don' do tha'" she begs, again her voice sounding teary.

"Sorry darlin' didn't mean to upset you..." he answers, stopping immediately and moving so he's sliding along her slit instead.

"Mmmm tha's nice" she moans, tipping her hips back towards him so he can reach further forward along her slit and hit her clit easily.

"You ready?" He asks, partly hoping she'll say no and fall asleep still, even if it means he won't get off.

"Yes! Please!" She begs, tipping her hips even further so that he actually catches his head on her entrance when he goes to slide forwards again.

"As you wish, as always, darlin'" he says, slowly sliding into her, knowing that she'll be tighter because she's laying on her side, and not being disappointed.

"Ggrrrrr, Jay, always so fuckin' _perfect_ for me, always so _tight_!" He growls into her ear, biting gently over her Mating scar as he thrusts into her, making her hips buck backwards against him, encouraging him to bite harder and harder until she tightens down and coats his balls as she cums again.

"El! Want you to cum! Need you to fill me!" She mewls, grabbing his ass and pulling him tight against her own, grinding back onto him all the while.

"I will baby, just a little more..." he tells her, starting to gasp and pant as she tightens down on him over and over again, as she moans on every thrust because he hasn't given her a chance to recover from her orgasm so she's super sensitive, and every time he thrusts in he hits her gspot bringing her closer to the edge again.

As he becomes more sensitive and she gets tighter he starts to speed up his thrusts, holding onto her hip with his free hand while his other is under her waist and holding her breast to pull her against him, using them both so that he can go faster and rougher as he thrusts into her willing body.

"Ah! El! Gonna... need y' t'..." she whines, getting louder again.

"What do you nee... what the _hell_?" Eliot rumbles out, starting asking her what she needs him to do but getting distracted by the tingling, burning, feeling at the base of his cock, a mild version of the feeling he gets when his knot is going to expand.

As he pulls back trying to decide whether to pull out or keep going Jayda grinds back against him, forcing him back into her wet tightness which he just can't resist grinding into because she just feels so good, as he does he feels his knot expand, he has no idea why this is happening, he isn't in rut and as far as he can tell she isn't in heat but he decides not to question it right now and just go with it, thrusting into her quickly and harshly, finally really chasing his orgasm after pleasuring her for the past two hours.

As his knot starts to catch on her opening and he's forced to stop thrusting she cries out "yes! El! So perf'ct! Please claim me!" Telling him exactly what he needs to do to bring them both to their orgasms.

At her words he leans forward and fits his teeth directly over her Mating scar and bites down, hard, she immediately clenches down on him as she cums, the feel of her squeezing his knot enough to force him over the edge into a mind numbing orgasm.

When he comes back to himself a few moments later he's holding her tightly in a full body hug, slowly grinding against her as he keeps cumming in rhythmic spurts, he gently removes his teeth from her neck and she moans deep in her throat but doesn't say anything, worrying him a little, so he tries talking to her.

"Jay? Darlin'? You ok?" He asks getting another deep moan in response but nothing more, so he checks her pulse and breathing, both are slow and regular and he realises, as soon as they'd cum she'd fallen asleep, the pain pills finally winning the fight and knocking her out, since there is nothing he can do about that or the fact they're tied together for at least the next half hour he decides to follow her example, he cuddles into her, his arms wrapped around her waist and chest and whispers "I love you" before slipping into an exhausted sleep of his own.


	41. Bad dreams and boundaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah and Jane both have bad nights leading to upsets and both couples learn new things about themselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have all been so patient with me this last year, my CFS has been playing up and with only a couple of in story days to go I’ve got writer go slow (not a block but similar) this was made worse by my anticipation of going to OMS4 and meeting the wonderful mr Kane for the first time, well OMS was last weekend and was wonderful as was Christian, so to thank you all for your patience here’s then next chapter and I’ll do my best to finish this story soon, I want to get on to the next one dammit!

QUINN/RUBY

Quinn is woken by his shoulder being shaken by a small hand.

"Wha...?" He mumbles out as his eyes flicker open.

"Daddy? Can I have a cuddle?" Jane asks, sounding as if she's been crying.

"Tazzie? What's wrong? What happened?" He asks as he pulls her onto the bed, sitting her in front of his stomach on the edge.

"I had a dream... that you and mommy were in a fire like my other daddy and Sarah went to live with her mommy and daddy but no one wanted me and I was all _alone_! And you were all burned up and _hurt_! I don't want you and mommy to be hurt! And I don't want to be alone! _Please_ don't make me be alone!" She cries out, bursting into tears and throwing herself onto his chest wrapping her thin arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder.

"Oh Jane, no! Nothing's going to happen to me or your mommy! But even if it did you wouldn't be alone, either Eliot and Jayda would have you live with them or your grandpa would have you, they all love you so much, you'll never be alone, I promise, no matter what you'll never be alone!" He tells her, hugging her tightly and rubbing his hand up and down her back soothingly as he moves her to lay on the bed next to him.

"Sean? What's happening?" Ruby asks from behind him, moving so that her naked front is pressed up against his naked back and sliding an arm around his waist to rest on Jane's leg.

"Jane's had a bad dream and just needed to know we're ok and that everyone loves her, that's all" he explains, shuffling forwards and then rolling over, putting Jane between them so they can both hold her, leaving his back bare to the room.

"Oh Tazzie! Everything is fine! You don't need to worry!" Ruby tells her as she hugs her tightly and strokes Quinn's face gently with her other hand.

"But... but I don't want you and daddy to be hurt! I don't want you to get all burned up like old daddy!" She cries, breaking down into almost hysterical sobs again as Quinn pulls them both against his chest in a tight cuddle.

"I told you Tazzie, that's not going to happen, nothing's going to happen to any of us, I promise" Quinn repeats to her, kissing her forehead and giving her a squeeze.

As her sobs calm to hiccups Quinn and Ruby continue to stroke her back, hair, legs, anywhere they can reach to comfort her and she eventually falls into an exhausted sleep between them.

"That must have been some nightmare" Quinn whispers to Ruby over her head, worried by how upset Jane had been just from a dream.

"She's always been scared of rejection and being alone, I think it's because she's always known she was adopted and it comes from thinking her parents didn't want her so nobody else does, I've tried to make her see that's not true but it still bothers her some, and I think the manner of Jared's death has really scared her, it's mixed with her fear and her attachment to you to make her dream about losing you that way too, she'll be ok, she just needs some extra love, affection and attention to get her past it, but we have a problem,... neither of us have anything on under this sheet!" She replies, pointing out the problem they're going to have when Jane wakes up.

"So which one of us is going to try for some underwear?" He asks with a raised brow.

"I think you should, if she sees me naked it's not so different from her own body where as you..." Ruby points out, her eyes traveling down his body in appreciation while she licks her lips.

"Hey! Enough of that! Not while she's in the bed with us, not unless you're going to sneak out of bed too so we can go be together in the bathroom..." he offers, eyeing up her body under the sheet himself.

"No, as much as i'd like to... we can't, go get some shorts on!" She hisses at him, making him grin and slip out of the bed to head over to the drawer Ruby had designated as 'his', grabbing a pair of boxers and a tshirt out and quickly putting them on before sliding back into the bed and leaning over Jane to kiss Ruby passionately.

"Mmm, Sean... yeah...." she moans out quietly, reaching up to stroke his face again.

"Mmm Ru, settle down, go back to sleep, it's still dark out" he whispers after their kiss, helping her to snuggle back down and pull the covers over herself and Jane before snuggling down himself, turning to face his girls so he and Ruby bracket Jane in the bed, surrounding her and hopefully making her feel safer.

ELIOT/JAYDA

Eliot wakes up when he tries to turn over in bed and his cock slowly peels off of Jayda's thigh where it had become glued by his drying cum during the night.

"Ooowwww!!" He whispers out as it finally comes free, leaving him with a _pinched_ feeling.

"Mmmuuurrr?" Jayda enquires, shuffling back to grind her ass against his hip.

"Go back to sleep darlin'" he whispers, slowly stroking down her arm a few times.

"Wha's wrong?" She asks, slowly turning to face him.

"Eeewwww, Eliot? Why am I totally covered in your cum?" She adds as she turns and realises quite how much cum is on her outer genitals "what did we _do_ last night?" She goes on to finish.

"Nuthin's wrong, I just made myself uncomfortable peelin' my dick off your leg unexpectedly, we made love last night, you begged me to until you were cryin', and when I came my knot blew so I fell asleep tied to you which is why you're such a mess, I’m sorry, I love you" he answers, trying to cover all her questions.

"Why don't I remember properly? And why am I so sensitive?" She asks sounding a little upset.

"You don't remember properly because your dad made you take some Vicodin for the pain in your broken wrist and you're so sensitive because my teeth were extended while I went down on you, and I bit your thigh, I think I might have hurt you when I did that" he confesses, expecting her to explode at him.

"Are you sure it was what I wanted?" She asks, looking just a little afraid.

"I promise, you were literally beggin' me, in tears, to make love to you, I tried to refuse but I couldn't bare you cryin' and beggin' it was too much, so I made love to you..." he explains, trying to be honest and not exaggerate as he gently strokes her face, comforting her.

"Was it good?" She asks timidly, obviously worried about his answer, but he doesn't know which answer she fears more.

"You seemed to think so, you came ... five times I think? Maybe six? So I think you liked it" he tells her, managing to avoid having to say he didn't like doing it when she was drugged like that so she won't worry about his enjoyment or whether she's any good in bed.

"Wait a minute, did you say you knotted me? How could that happen? You're not in rut!" She asks, looking confusedly over at him.

"I know! I have no idea what's going on! All I can think is it's our bodies still syncin' up, but since it's not causin' any harm can we not ask your dad about it? I don't like talkin' about me havin' sex with his daughter with him" Eliot answers her.

"It's fine, it's not like it’s hurtin' us like you said, I'm just gonna pop to the bathroom ok?" She tells him, slipping out of the bed and heading into the bathroom, walking a little bow-legged because of the mess.

She's in there less than a minute before she shouts out "what the _fuck_ Eliot?!?" Making him jump up and run into the bathroom, he finds her stood in front of her sink with a washcloth, tentatively dabbing at a pretty savage bite mark high on her inner thigh.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you!" He says taking the cloth from her and kneeling down, pressing it over the bite mark and rubbing gently.

"Ow! Ooohhhh, that hurts! Why did you bite me like that?" She asks, not knowing what would cause him to bite her in such a way.

"To stop you from squirmin', you wouldn't stay still!" He tells her looking up into her eyes "I guess I was carried away, I really didn't mean to hurt you" he says as he wipes over the bite one last time then climbs to his feet.

"We both need a shower I think" Jayda says, taking the cloth from him and throwing it into the sink before wrapping her arms around his neck "you're lucky I love you" she tells him before kissing him soundly.

"Very lucky indeed, lets have that shower" he tells her when their lips part, sitting her on the counter and removing the bandages from around the splint brace but not removing the brace itself, then slowly leading her to the shower, pushing her in before going for towels.

By the time he joins her the water is hot and she's already washing her hair one handed, making it easy to slip up behind her and slide his arms around her to fondle her breasts.

"Hey mister! What do you think you’re doin'? Didn’t you get enough last night?" She asks, turning in the circle of his arms and leaning up to kiss him whilst rinsing her hair.

"Never have enough of you, darlin'" he growls back, kissing her deeper and grabbing her ass to pull her up against himself.

As their kiss goes on Jayda’s arms slowly wind around his neck allowing him to pick her up without her panicking, as he lifts her she wraps her legs around his waist and grinds against him.

"Mmmmm Jay, thought you’d had enough?" He teases.

"I never said that!" She answers before diving into another kiss, feeling his hardening dick brush against her asscheek.

"We’re meant to be gettin' clean from last time! and I don’t know if my knot would blow again, I don’t want us tied together in the shower, I’m not sure I could hold you up long enough if that happened" he confesses when their kiss ends.

"You’re right... how about a blow job instead?" She asks grinning down at him from where he’s holding her.

"How about when we go back to bed? We can make love however then without havin' to worry and it is only about six am so we have time?" He proposes giving her a squeeze.

"Ok, let me down and we’ll get washed" she answers with a smile, pecking him on the lips.

He slowly lets her down, keeping a firm grip on her even once she’s steady on her feet.

"Love you you know, more than anythin', you’re my whole world" he tells her before kissing her sweetly and starting to wash her.

"I love you too, you and Sarah are everythin' to me" she replies before returning the favour and starting to wash his shoulders.

After ten minutes they’re both clean and mostly dry, with Jayda sat on the counter and Eliot just removing the brace from her arm so he can dry both the plastic brace and her arm before putting it back in place.

"Ooohhhh, El that hurts" she moans as he places the brace back on her slightly swollen wrist.

"I’m sorry darlin' but you need it on" he replies, feeling bad at causing her more pain.

"It’s ok, I know you can’t help it, it needs to be done, will you put a dressin' on the bite on my leg when you’re done with this?" She asks gently, stroking his head with her free hand.

"Course I will, it’s my fault after all" he answers, looking a little guilty.

"No! It’s no one’s fault! It just happened, bitin' is sumthin' that just happens between us because of our wolf sides, it’s never anyone’s fault!" She insists, tipping his head up to kiss him as he finishes the bandage around her wrist.

"Still, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’m sorry" he tells her, staring into her eyes so she knows he’s telling her the truth.

"It’s ok, no more apologies ok? Just put the dressin' on, take me to bed and show me how much you love me" she says smiling back into his eyes.

He smiles back and makes short work of putting the dressing over the already-healing bite mark on her thigh and then leaning in and licking along her outer lips, slowly he does it again, pushing against them harder to start to separate them, before licking a third time and pushing between them to lick over her entrance, inner lips and clit, catching her clit ring with his tongue and pulling it gently making her gasp.

"Oh El yes!" She gasps before catching her breath while he pulls on her ring again and saying "not here, take me to bed, show me how much you love me!" Making him stand up and pick her up from the counter, her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips, his hard cock sliding across her entrance and her ass cheeks as he walks.

He lets go of her with one hand and opens the bathroom door, kissing her as he carries her out of the bathroom before being stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hey daddy! Hello mommy! Do I need to go away again? Because it looks like you’re gonna..." a blanket-clad Sarah greets them from where she’s sat in the middle of the bed with Wahya before being interrupted by Eliot.

"Sarah! stay right there, don’t move!" he commands using the Alpha voice as he carries Jayda back into the bathroom.

"Jay, down, I thought she’d still be asleep, I never thought..." he starts babbling as his face and chest turn red.

"Eliot! Calm down, so she saw us naked, she sees that every time we change, it’s ok" she comforts him stroking his face and neck gently.

"I know, I just hate her seein' me excited like that, she has a rough understandin' of why men get hard and I don’t like her thinkin' of me that way, I’m her dad!" He explains, his upset clear in his voice.

"It’s ok, and better she’s curious about you who would never do anythin' to hurt her than somebody else who might, anyway she’s gonna need a 'birds and the bees' talk very soon, I wasn’t much older than her when I started my periods and I believe she should know about the boys side of it too, that way no boy can trick her into doin' things she shouldn’t or believin' she can’t get pregnant when she can, anyway as you showed me last night, wolves mate in front of their young, it’s part of how they know what to do" she tells him, terrifying him that he’s gonna have to either teach his daughter about sex or show her about it.

"Jay, I don’t think..." he starts having no idea what he’s going to say.

"We can’t talk about this now, lets go see what Sarah needs ok?" She interrupts him grabbing them a towel each and then heading out into the bedroom as she wraps hers around herself, he follows as soon as he’s got his towel secure.

As he comes out into the bedroom he hears "Sarah, baby, what’s wrong? Ssshhhh, don’t cry, hussshhhh" and when he looks up he finds Jayda sat in the middle of the bed, cuddling a crying Sarah to her chest while she silently sobs.

"Hey, what’s wrong snugabug? Why are you cryin'?" He asks, coming to sit with them on the bed and going to stroke Sarah’s hair, but being dismayed when she flinches away from him.

"Sarah what’s wrong?" He asks again at this, wondering why she’s scared of him all of a sudden.

"I... I.... I didn’t _mean_ to!" She finally gets out on a wail, snuggling into Jayda’s chest as she cries harder.

"Didn’t mean to do what bug?" He asks, stroking her back feather softly.

"I didn’t... didn’t mean to inter... interrupt and make yo... you mad and shout at me! Ple... Please don’t hu... hurt me daddy!" She stutters out, making tears stand in his eyes at the thought that she expects him to hurt her.

"I’d never hurt you bug, never, and I’m sorry I shouted, I was just embarrassed, but that’s no excuse, so I’m really, really sorry, can I have a hug now?" He begs, hating that he’s scared her so much.

"Are... are you sure you’re not m... mad at me?" She asks peeking out from around Jayda’s breasts.

"I’m sure babygirl, i could never be mad at you, you’re our baby!" He tells her holding his arms out to her for a hug.

"O...ok..." She stutters a little nervously, turning and leaning into his chest, where he pulls her against him and squeezes her gently.

"Ain’t never gonna hurt you bug, you’re our precious baby, could never hurt you!" He tells her rocking her from side to side while Jayda strokes her hair and his arm that’s around her neck.

"C'mon mommy, come hug with us" He asks, Jayda wrapping her broken arm around his neck while he pulls her against his side and she continues stroking Sarah’s hair and back to comfort her.

"So bug why did you come up in the first place?" Eliot asks hoping to move the conversation away from the idea of him hurting Sarah.

"I... I came up because I need to go home, Jane needs me, I don’t wanna go but she’s been alone too long and she’s havin' bad dreams and it’s all my _fault_!" Sarah tells them before bursting into tears again.

"Hey, shhhh, it’s ok babygirl, we know you wanna stay with us but you can’t be in both places at once, if Jane needs you then you’ve gotta do what you think is right, but how do you know she’s havin' bad dreams?" Eliot asks gently, trying to reassure her that they understand and don’t mind her going home even though they’ll miss her.

"I don’t know!I just know she’s upset and havin' bad dreams! It’s all my fault!" She wails, Eliot pulling her against himself and holding her tightly to comfort her.

"Why is it your fault bug?" Jayda asks her gently while stroking her back.

"Because I bro.... broke my promise that i’d always be there with her, that she’d never be alone!" She answers, leaning into both her parents.

"That’s not your fault bug, you needed to stay with us for full moon this time, but we’ll make different arrangements for next time so you’ll still be with her ok?" Eliot promises, already having a plan for when he and Jayda won’t be there.

"You promise?" She asks looking up at him with huge, wet, blue eyes.

"I promise" he replies, looking back at her with eyes that mirror her own.

"You wanna get a bit more sleep or go home right now?" Eliot asks her, stroking her hair gently.

"I’m really tired and Jane’s gone back to sleep with mommy and daddy anyway, can we have more sleep?" She says rubbing her eyes.

"Course you can, here put on this tshirt to sleep in while I put some clothes on" he answers handing her one of his tshirts to put on while finding his sweatpants to put on himself.

"Ok everyone in bed!" He announces, shooing the two girls to the top of the bed and under the covers before giving in to Wahya’s puppy eyes and letting him on the bed too before climbing in himself, cuddling up to Jayda’s back while she cuddles Sarah and Sarah cuddles Wahya, quickly they all settle and within five minutes they’re all deep asleep.

QUINN/RUBY

Quinn wakes up to find himself alone in the bed with a note on Ruby’s pillow.

Quinn

I’ve taken Jane to town to get a few things, you looked so peaceful we decided to leave you to sleep, when you get up have a shower and I should be back by the time you finish, we’re going to Jayda’s for dinner tonight but I’m gonna pick up Sarah now because she had a bad night, something about missing Jane so yeah, we’ll see you soon

I love you

Ruby

He smiles at her note and that she told him she loves him, making him feel good, even with the news that Sarah had a bad night too, he lays there for a minute just smiling to himself before sitting up and getting out of bed, removing his tshirt and heading for the shower.

Once he’s under the hot spray he’s totally unsurprised to find himself with a morning erection, not only was it morning but he’s quickly becoming hard-wired to react that way when coming into the shower as most of the time Ruby joins him now, which he has to admit to himself he’s not dismayed about, since he’s alone in the house he decides 'what the hell' and after washing takes hold of his burgeoning cock, stroking it in exactly the way he’d taught Ruby to just the night before.

As his hand strokes over his smooth flesh he closes his eyes, remembering her eyes looking up at him adoringly the night before as she licked at the head of his cock, how she always seems to look at him adoringly when they’re having sex, like he’s the only man in the world and she loves him like nothing else, he remembers her hands touching him hesitantly at first but with growing confidence as her passion grows, stroking over him softly but firmly, the feel of her lips on his when she loses control and demands his love, kissing him commandingly, and her taste, what it’s like to lick her and suck her clit into his mouth, her unique clit that he loves the feel of, sucking it like a miniature cock, a part of him wishing it was even bigger so he could have the best of all worlds, at this he tips his head back and licks his lips, looking for a hint of that taste, knowing he won’t find it but wishing all the same, he thinks about the other night, the way she reacted to him taking her ass, that she came from that alone, and it makes him want to buy her a strap-on so she can have his, peg him to within an inch of his life, really fuck his ass in a way he hasn’t felt in years... just the thought of that makes him reach behind himself with his free hand, teasing at his own ass, then sliding a finger into himself, slowly searching for his prostate while still working his cock hard, and it’s working, all these memories and thoughts of what he’d like to do in future plus the stimulation on his cock and finally over his prostate too make him rocket ever closer to the edge, and just as he slides a second finger into himself he opens his eyes, meaning to look at his cock sliding through his fist, but instead he comes face to face with Ruby stood on the other side of the glass watching him avidly, the shock is too much for his over-stimulated mind and body and he cums all over the glass door of the shower, quickly pulling his fingers out of his ass while squeezing out the last drops of cum from his cock, looking anywhere except into her eyes because he’s embarrassed at being caught.

Just then Ruby taps on the shower door, making him look up without thinking, what he finds is that she’s not angry, or at least she doesn’t look it, she’s smirking at him and rubbing her thighs together while she stands there, giving him the impression she’s turned on.

She tentatively opens the shower door a little and says "I’m sorry, we got back and I could hear the shower running so I came to say good morning, but I stayed for the show because it was really, really hot!" Smiling, hoping he’s not mad at her for watching.

"It’s ok, I shouldn’t..." Quinn starts before Ruby overruns him.

"No! There’s no reason why you shouldn’t! And it seems to me that there’s something missing from our sex life if what I saw was any indication, why didn’t you ask me to..." she interrupts him, telling him that she knows there’s something more he needs.

"Because you shouldn’t have to do that... and I didn’t want to ask you to do something that you might not like, not with your attitude of 'take what you want I don’t matter', I’m sorry, I should have talked about it with you" he answers, telling her how concerned he is by her attitude to herself and her comfort again.

"Well I don’t mind, after the other night I understand, and I know it’s meant to feel even better for men, so how about you teach me about that tonight?" She asks while discreetly rubbing at herself, turning him on all over again.

"You got a deal, but I need to pop over to the mall today if we’re going to do that, okay?" He agrees, reaching out and pulling her into his arms in the shower, the spray soaking her immediately.

"Oh!... what!... _Sean_!..." she shouts trying to struggle out of his grip, but failing miserably "you are _so_ gonna pay for this! Go lay face down on the bed!" She goes on to command, a command he follows, smirking all the while.

Once Ruby has removed all her wet clothes and has dried off she follows him into the bedroom, she kneels on the bed and straddles his ass, her stitched mound rubbing against the base of his cheeks as she lays over him whispering in his ear "you’ve been a _very_ bad boy, and now you’re going to get your punishment!" Before swinging back from over him and delivering a stinging smack to his ass, making his hips buck up while he moans into the pillows, before his hips have even met the bed again he’s smacked a second time, his hips rising again as he moans then whimpers.

"Don’t you like your punishment you bad boy?" She asks, only half in character as she doesn’t know if Quinn likes this kind of thing.

" _Mistress_ ,... deserve everything you give to me, I’m very bad, please spank me again!" He begs, making sure she knows he likes it, and although she can’t see he’s surprised that he’s getting hard again already, it’s such a turn on for him to have her be so dominant and in control.

"No,... I think you’re enjoying this too much, if you’re a good boy for the rest of the day I’ll spank you more tonight, now get up!" She commands with one last slap to the ass.

A few moments later he rolls over towards the side of the bed so he’s facing her and says "you’re really good at that you know" making her blush and turn to look at him, her eyes going wide at the sight of his huge erection.

"Is that because of me?" She asks, completely shocked.

"Well I told you that you were good at it!" He answers with a grin "any chance of a quick blow job?"

"None whatsoever, you’re being punished remember?" She answers, turning her naked back to him while she pulls out some fresh clothes to wear.

"Yes ma’am! Should I get dressed too?" He asks being cheeky.

"Well if you wanna go to the mall you better!" She answers, being cheeky right back as she shakes her ass in his direction.

"Mmmm, so gorgeous and sexy, love you!" He growls as he comes up behind her and cuddles her from behind, putting his chin over her shoulder so he can kiss her on the cheek while swiftly grinding against her ass before heading to his drawer and pulling out underwear.

"Love you too, you cheeky, naughty boy! Lucky for you!" She replies turning to look at his ass as he walks.

They quickly both dress and come down stairs but are surprised by how quiet it is until they come into the living room where they find Sarah and Jane cuddled up together on the sofa fast asleep, both showing signs of exhaustion.

Quinn goes over to them and strokes each of their heads affectionately before going to put on his snow boots and coat ready for his trip to the mall because it’s snowing heavily, again.

"I’ll try to be quick, is there anything you need bringing back? Or Christmas presents that need picking up?" Quinn asks, thinking of a few presents he’d like to get while he’s there.

"No everything is fine, I ordered everyone’s presents online I’ve only got you to buy for and I’m not sending you to get your own Christmas present!" She tells him leaning up to give him a kiss which soon turns passionate.

"I gotta go before the snow gets any worse..." he mumbles against her lips, hating to let her go but needing to make a move.

"I know, drive safely ok?" She answers giving him one last peck then stepping backwards out of his hold, letting him move to the door and out into the blowing snow.

Once Quinn has gone Ruby turns to face her home and heads into the office to do some paperwork while the girls are sleeping.

ELIOT/JAYDA

Once Ruby has come to pick up Sarah and take her home Eliot helps Jayda get dressed and takes her to the hospital where she undergoes X-rays of both her feet and her left wrist again then sits and waits with Eliot for her father to come give her the results.

"So yeah, that’s why Quinn was so happy he kissed me, you don’t have a problem with it do you?" She finishes explaining about Quinn’s favour and what it would entail for him and Ruby to have a child.

"No I haven’t got a problem with it, I hope it works out for them..." Eliot replies giving her a tight one armed hug "in fact I think you’re goin' way above and beyond for them, they’re lucky to have you" he adds.

Just then the door opens and Diwali enters the treatment room along with the doctor who dealt with Jayda’s wrist on the day of her rescue.

"Well Jayda I’ll start with the best news, your feet and ankle are fully healed, but they need a little while to fully strengthen so try not to put too much force on them if you can help it, this is Dr Ross, she treated your wrist and hand the last time you were here" Diwali explains before Dr Ross takes over.

"Hello Jayda, you most likely don’t remember me but I worked on your hand when you were brought in last time, at that time we were more worried about the separation damage caused to your muscles from the chain being yanked on, we had noted that there was a possible hairline fracture just below the head of the bone but we thought being in plaster anyway it would be alright and now you come back, what? Four days later with no cast and a broken wrist, why did you take the cast off?" She introduces herself and asks.

"It’s a long story, suffice to say when I changed at full moon I lost my casts, we’ve been using this splint brace instead for the rest of full moon and it seems to be workin' fine, except when I’m out runnin' as a wolf, that’s when the break happened" Jayda explains while Eliot gives her a squeeze in support.

"Ok, well we have two choices, we can either put you in a cast again and have you come back in a week to X-ray it again and check on your progress, or you can continue using the splint brace for that long and come for the tests, what would you prefer?" Dr Ross asks.

Jayda looks up at Eliot who makes an encouraging gesture with his head, telling her to speak her mind.

"I really don’t want a cast, it’s impossible to get things done with a cast on, like I can’t even wash my hair with it on and I need to be able to do things, plus my sister is gettin' married in the next two weeks and I can hide the splint brace easier, so if it’s ok I’m gonna opt for the brace..." she says, her confidence wobbling towards the end.

"That’s fine, I’ll just check Eliot is bandaging it correctly for you and we’ll let you go, Ok?" Dr Ross finishes with a smile before watching Eliot bind Jayda’s wrist with the brace on and telling him he was doing it perfectly, Eliot and Jayda quickly say goodbye to Dr Ross and have a quick chat to Diwali.

"Dad? I wanna make a family meal for us all tonight but my table isn’t big enough for us all, is it ok if I come and cook and have the dinner at your house?" Jayda asks Diwali, wanting to have a table for them all to eat at.

"Of Course that’s fine, will you be bringing Wahya with you?" He asks.

"If that’s ok that would be great, I’ve... kinda... made him part of our Pack, so that would be appreciated" Eliot says, blushing and looking embarrassed.

"Eliot...! You know he’ll never go free now! you so like doing the things you shouldn’t when it comes to your wolf!... well it’s done now, I’m more than happy for you to bring him over, consider it his second home, since you won’t be able to take him back to Portland with you" Diwali says exasperatedly, just then Diwali is called over the tannoy system so he tells them to go home and relax and he’d see them when his shift finishes, so they head out back to the lake house until it’s time to head to Diwali’s.

                        ************************************************************************

Once they’re back home Eliot sits on the snuggle chair while Jayda heads to the kitchen to get them a drink each.

"Hey babe, do y' want anythin' else while I’m here? A snack or anythin'?" She calls to him once she has the drinks ready.

"No thanks darlin' I’m good, you Ok bringin' those drinks over?" He asks, worrying about her carrying two drinks with her broken wrist.

"Yeah I’ve got it!" She answers as she comes up behind him and strokes his hair with her bandaged hand.

"Hey!, here let me take those" he says jumping up and taking the two mugs from her so she can sit down on the chair.

"You don’t have to.... alright, fine!" She tries arguing with him as he takes the mugs from her, then sitting down when she realises she’s not going to win.

Once the mugs are placed somewhere they can reach them Eliot sits down on the chair and wraps himself around her, his arms around her body and his face in the crook of her neck, taking nice deep breaths of her scent, making him feel slightly light headed and _swimmy_.

"You Ok?" She asks wondering what has made him feel so cuddly all of a sudden.

"Yeah" He rasps out, nipping at her neck gently "just glad you’re here and safe,... that we’re alone and together,... I’ve missed you so much... and now I have you in my arms, ...and we have our whole lives ahead of us, I’m just thankful,... I love you" he explains to her haltingly, trying to get his thoughts out in some semblance of an order.

"You make me happy too! I love you, more than anythin', come here" she says, moving his head so she can kiss him slowly and passionately.

When their kiss comes to an end they both cuddle there smiling into each other’s eyes until Jayda asks "so what do you wanna do until we need to leave for dad’s?"

He chuckles and asks "apart from the obvious?" While rubbing his length against her.

"Well we can do that too, but anythin' else or just sexy-times and cuddles?" She answers with a smirk of her own.

"I’m happy with just sexy-times and cuddles, always happy doin' that with you" he tells her before nibbling at her neck gently.

"Oh! El!" She moans at the feel of his teeth on her skin, arching towards his body even more.

"Mmm stay here" he says as he slides off the chair and kneels in front of it, dragging her around so her head is against the back but parting her legs so they’re wide apart.

"El? What are you doin'?" She asks as he takes off her boots and leans over her to pull her tops up her ribs and kiss her belly above her jeans.

"Gonna show you how much I love you..." he answers, swirling his tongue around her navel and nipping at the edges of it before undoing the button and zipper on her jeans.

"EliOOt! What...?" She says with a weird wobble to her voice as he licks up the centre of her belly from her surgery scar to her bra then biting at the underside of her breast through the lace of the bra while he lifts her ass and pulls her jeans down.

"Lovin' you" he answers with a growl as he sits back on his heels and pulls the jeans off over her feet leaving just her panties between him and his target.

He takes hold of her foot firmly and kisses the inner ankle joint, then slowly trails kisses up to her knee, having her moaning and squirming just a little by the time he reaches it, then he swaps to the other leg giving her the same treatment there, when he reaches that knee he swaps back to the first leg, slowly trailing kisses, nuzzles and nips up until he reaches the dressing from where he bit her the night before, he gives a gentle kiss right below the dressing and then moves to the second leg, starting at the knee again he trails his way up her inner thigh, reaching and then passing the point where he stopped on the other leg, continuing on towards her most intimate of areas.

When he reaches the seam of her panties he nips her as high on her thigh as he can before gripping the material in his teeth and pulling it to one side, his hands busy wrapped under her knees and then over onto the top of them, holding her legs still as she twitches and shakes in anticipation of his touch.

"Please, Eliot, _please_! Touch me!" She moans, her flesh quivering in need.

"Don’t worry darlin', gonna make you feel _amazin_ '!" He rasps, his voice gone guttural because his wolf is so near to the surface, more than he usually is outside of full moon and rut.

At this promise Eliot licks along the length of her lip, feeling the rasp of her short hair along his tongue and getting a slight taste of them both from the side where her opening is.

"Ggrrr, Mine!" He growls before nipping at the gap at the top of her slit where her lips join together to become her mound making her groan in arousal.

At her groan he licks along the seam of her lips, the tip of his tongue forcing them apart slightly so that he gets another slight hint of that intoxicating flavour of them together that he loves, at the taste he moans against her lips, the vibration feeling so good in her piercing that she moans too.

At this point Eliot realises he’s gonna need to remove her panties or risk him chewing through them if they get in the way, so he lifts her knees over each of his shoulders and pulls her down on the chair a bit so her ass is nearer the edge, then lifts her ass and pulls down her panties to just above her knees, once he’s laid her back down on the chair he takes the panties down each leg to remove them, placing each leg down over his shoulder again when he’s done.

"Oh Eliot! _Please_!" She moans at the feel of his breath on her lips.

"No need to beg darlin', gonna give you exactly what you want" he promises before diving into her, using his tongue to fully separate her lips and lick at her opening, getting a strong mouthful of their mixed flavour, arousing him even more, he also notices that her inner lips are very swollen and red, her clit is twice it’s usual size and she’s wetter than he’s ever seen her before.

Once his face is so buried in her pussy he can hardly breathe he starts to rub his groin against the base of the armchair, desperate for some friction on his over-sensitive cock while he gives her pleasure.

"Oh! El yes! Do that more!" She cries out when he thrusts his tongue into her as far as he can, sealing his lips around the edge of her opening and sucking at her even as he repeatedly thrusts his tongue into her again, making her moan.

After a while, as his tongue starts to feel the strain, he changes his tactics to licking at her clit, changing between long, slow licks that press hard against the clit and surrounding flesh and quick, flickering licks that both rub over the clit and catch and pull on her clit ring on most passes, as he changes between these two techniques she moans and reaches down to grip his head, forcing it against herself hard while she grinds herself down onto his tongue and face.

After a few minutes Eliot pulls back from between her thighs and takes a deep breath while moving his hand to her lower belly so he can rub his thumb over her clit firmly, making her shake and moan, and with the other hand undoes his shirt and opens his jeans which drop down to his knees, releasing his cock into the warm air between them.

“Mmm Yeah..." she moans, stroking his hair as he smiles up at her before leaning in and nipping one of her outer lips gently.

"Oh!" She cries, loving the feel of his teeth in her skin as he leans down further and slides his tongue into her opening again before starting to tongue fuck her vigorously.

After a short time of these combined sensations he can feel her wet channel tensing up and he knows she’s on the verge of orgasm so he switches around, moving his tongue up to start flickering over her clit firmly and quickly and moves his thumb down and into her, using it to rub at her gspot hard, this makes her cry out in pleasure.

"Eliot! _Please_ Eliot!" She shouts as she cums, Eliot sucking at her so as to not waste a drop of her release, as he tastes her he can detect something slightly different to her flavour, like a new spice added to a favourite recipe, but he can’t put his finger on what is so different, all he knows is that it makes it even harder to resist her, making him need her right now!

As she lays there panting and recovering from her orgasm Eliot leans over her and kisses her before asking raspily "feelin' good?"

"Of Course I am, come here..." She answers before pulling him further over her so he’s laid on her and kissing him passionately.

"*Jayda, my perfect Mate, need you now, need to mate you and breed you right now!*" He growls out and sends through the Bond, a sense of both demand and begging enveloping it, his obvious need turning her on even more.

"Need you too, please Alpha!" She begs him, lifting her hips and rubbing her mound against him desperately.

He grinds down onto her as hard as he can before sliding between her lips and rubbing over her clit roughly making her moan.

"El, please, need you now!" She begs, pulling him closer to her and clawing at his neck.

"Jay! Yes!" He growls as he slides into her, grinding his pelvic bone against her clit once he’s fully engulfed in her warm wetness.

He kisses her as he savours the feeling of Home being in her brings, slowly sliding his tongue into her mouth and caressing hers gently, his hands coming up to her breasts and playing with her nipples to bring her even more pleasure.

"Eliot! Move, please!" She whines, dying to feel his hot, hard length thrusting into her while her walls squeeze down on him.

"Love you, more than anythin' else" He tells her as he does just that, starting out moving slowly and gently before beginning to make his thrusts more forceful, making her start to cry out at the height of each thrust.

"Love you too, so much, always have!" She replies, wrapping her legs firmly around him and pulling him tight against herself.

Eliot continues to thrust into her, burying his face in her neck when he’s not kissing her and still all he can smell is that difference to her scent and it’s driving him mad! He has no idea of what it is, all he knows is it’s making him want her even more than usual, and that’s saying a lot.

Jayda is taking deep breaths of Eliot’s scent while her face is in his neck and all she can smell is how much he wants her, he’s so desperate he reeks of it and the scent is turning her on even more, as she thinks this he pulls up from where he’s laid over her, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her forwards onto his cock hard, bringing her closer to the edge even as the move makes her cry out in pleasure.

"Eliot! Yes! Like that, please!" She begs, grabbing his biceps and using them to pull herself towards him harder.

"Rrrr, so fuckin' wet for me! Gonna make you cum!" He promises, thrusting into her harder and faster, the sweat rolling down his chest and back, making his scent in the room even stronger, turning her on even more.

"Oh! Oh! ... Eliot!" She shouts, squeezing down hard on his cock making him growl again, once she loosens he pulls out of her and rolls her over on the chair so that she is kneeling on the floor too, bent over the seat of the chair and he can enter her from behind.

As he slides into her she moans deep in her throat, almost a growl, and he pulls her up towards him asking "you Ok there darlin'?" Over her shoulder, to which she nods and moans again, not really up to speaking at the moment.

"Mmmm, Mine! Gonna Breed you!" He declares, grabbing her waist and sliding her along his dick while he thrusts harshly against her, making sure to ram himself in as far as possible.

"My perfect Mate, made to be part of me, smellin' so enticin' for me, just need to breed you, you ready for me to do that?" He asks as he thrusts.

"Yes! Need you to do it!" She cries, her nails digging into the cushion of the chair as her back arches and her head tips back, curving her spine as far back as she can while he hammers into her, them both panting as if running a race and moaning and growling in mutual pleasure.

By now they’re both covered from waist to knees in her juices and both of their thighs are coated to the point they slap together loudly with every thrust, Eliot knows this is way more natural lubricant than she usually produces and is starting to come to a conclusion about what the cause is, but for now all he can think about is making her cum and getting her pregnant, nothing else in the world exists.

"Gggrrraaaahhhh! Want you to cum for me! Right now!" Eliot demands in the Alpha voice as he pounds away at her and she slams herself back onto his length, just as his balls draw up, the command from her Alpha given in such a deep growl forcing her to cum instantly and tighten down on him squeezing him hard, but instead of cumming after her like he expects to he instead convulses over her back in a dry orgasm, confusing both him and his wolf.

But since he hasn’t achieved his goal of getting her pregnant, or at least trying to, he continues on slamming into her making her cry out in overstimulation.

"Oh! Eliot! Ah! Please..." she begs, not even knowing herself whether she wants him to stop or carry on.

"Jayda-Mate, _Mine_!" He calls before leaning forward and nipping her Bond scar while he pauses his movements at her begging.

"Oh Alpha, please, breed me!" She begs of him as she squeezes down on his cock deep within her, causing him to start thrusting into her again.

"Yes! Mate!" He growls, his hips quickly resuming their punishing pace as he slams himself into her, his heavy balls hammering her clit relentlessly.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!, mmm yes!" She cries after a few minutes as she starts to massage at his cock internally, making sure he knows she’s drawing close again, he’s just about to lean over and bite her Mating Bond scar when he feels that tingling, burning feeling at the base of his cock, making him pause and pull back from her neck as his knot inflates very quickly, leaving him lodged inside of her, making her cry out again in pleasure.

"Eliot! Please! _Now_!" She begs, just needing that little bit of extra stimulation to tip her over the edge for the final time, instantly Eliot starts nipping at her Bonding mark while bringing his hand to play with and pull her clit ring, all the time trying his hardest to thrust as much as he possibly can.

"Oh! Oh Eliot! El! I’m gonna...!" She shouts as she clenches down on his heated knot, making him grunt as he starts to cum inside her, filling her with his scalding cum as his eyes roll back in his head at the feeling of the most perfect orgasm he’s ever had.

The next thing Eliot is aware of is being laid in front of the fire still tied to Jayda with the huge fur rug wrapped around them, he has no idea how they got from kneeling in front of the chair to where they are now but Jayda seems happy enough having her neck nuzzled and her body hugged so he’s not going to question it right now, partly because he’s still spurting inside of her regularly.

"Love you Jayda" He whispers into her neck before nipping her Bond bite gently making her tighten a little around his knot.

"Love you too, are you Ok? You went kinda caveman there for a minute" she replies, leaving him with the dilemma of whether to admit he doesn’t remember or not.

"I’m fine, I didn’t hurt you did I?" He asks in return wondering how exactly he 'went caveman'.

"No, you didn’t hurt me, I was just surprised when you lifted me up like that" she says, perplexing him even more.

"Erm... what exactly did I do? I don’t remember anythin' after us both cummin', I’ve got no idea how we ended up laid here" he confesses, hoping she’ll tell him what he did.

"Well you laid over me for about a minute, then you lifted me with one arm round my waist and the other under my knees and moved us to layin' here, when you laid me down here I was shakin' and you pulled the rug over us, I guess you thought I was cold or somethin', then we just laid here cuddlin' until you spoke to me" she explains, making him wonder how he’d managed to carry her that way while still tied to her.

"How long we been laid here? and why were you shakin'?" He asks.

"Just a few minutes, and I was shakin' because I was still cummin' and overstimulated" she tells him snuggling backwards into his chest.

As she does she squeezes down on him again and in response he thrusts against her finding that his knot has reduced a little and he’s able to move more than before, but now that he’s started to move he doesn’t want to stop, so buries his face in her neck and holds her tighter to his body as he continues thrusting into her as much as possible, feeling himself hardening again where he had slightly softened while tied to her.

As he breathes her scent in he suddenly places the scent that’s been added to her usual scent and he’s surprised by what it is.

"You smell like sugar cookies dusted in cinnamon" He rasps into her ear before nipping the lobe gently and then licking up her neck "and you taste of them too" He adds kissing the hinge of her jaw.

"I do? Do you like it?" She asks surprised before moaning as he reaches down and rubs over her clit gently.

"Yes you do, and yes, I love it, makes me want to keep doin' this for days..." he tells her before trying to pull back out of her all the way and making her yelp.

"Ow! El, not yet!" She tells him gripping his hip and holding him still against her back until he rubs her clit again making her moan.

"Ooohhh El, stop, it’s too much!" She tells him trying to move backwards away from his fingers.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you" he says moving his hand from between her legs and wrapping his arm around her waist instead "are you Ok?"

"It’s alright I just feel really, really sensitive today is all, and I wish we could just keep goin' all day but we have things to do, it’s nice to know you want me as much as I want you though" she tells him while he breathes in her scent again, and now that he’s placed the enticing scent it seems to be all he can smell, making his hips thrust against her again.

"Mine!" He growls, nipping at her Bond bite.

"Mmm Eliot!" She groans turning her head to kiss him before begging him "please, we’ve gotta stop, we need to get showered and movin'"

"I’m not sure I can stop! you just smell so... arousin', enticin',... mateable" He tells her, his voice low and gravelly.

"We have to, and we need to clean up the mess I made, I’m sticky from my waist to mid calf and that’s before you pull out!" She insists, pointing out something that makes things start to click in his mind.

"Jay? You ever been this wet before? Or felt so horny?" He asks to reinforce his suspicions.

"No i've never made so much mess, and I... I got this horny while I was pregnant about mid way through, but apart from that no, ... what I would have given to have you there with me then!" She tells him honestly, hurting both of them a little over what was lost.

"Well I think you’re right we need to go shower, you ready?" He asks, getting a nod in reply before he slowly draws his hips back and slides out of her, still fully hard, he bites his lip and forces himself and his wolf to behave and not enter her again, no matter how much they both want to.

Now that they’re separated Jayda grabs her panties and uses them to clean herself up as best she can before standing up, in the meantime Eliot takes his jeans the rest of the way off and stands up wearing nothing but his unbuttoned shirt which is nearly glued to him with sweat.

"You’re perfect you know?" He says, pulling her against himself to kiss her passionately.

"Stop!" She whispers when their kiss ends, pushing away from him slightly "as much as I want you again we have plans and if we keep kissin' we’ll end up startin' again" she tells him, making him a little disappointed.

"C'mon then, upstairs, lets get showered" he says reluctantly as he pushes her towards the stairs and pats her on the ass.

She quickly runs up the stairs not wanting to give him the chance to ambush her on them and heads through their bedroom into the bathroom stripping off her tshirt and sweater as she goes, throwing them and her dirty panties into the laundry as she passes before stripping the bandage off from over her splint brace and removing the dressing from her thigh.

She’s just turning the shower on when Eliot follows her into the room now minus his shirt and taps on the glass wall separating them.

"You want me to use the other shower?" He asks, looking a little sad eyed.

"Can you behave?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I’ll behave" he answers, looking at her with adoration in his eyes.

"Come here then!" She tells him opening her arms to hug him in greeting when he enters the enclosure.

He hugs her back tightly and kisses her neck but even though his cock is hard between them he does nothing overtly sexual, keeping his promise.

He starts to wash her without even asking, just so used to this being the way it is with them that it seems totally natural to them both.

By the time they’ve finished washing each other Jayda’s surprised to see that Eliot’s still fully hard, making her wonder what’s going on.

"El? Are you really that desperate to go again?" She asks, gently stroking over his hot flesh.

"Yes... and if you don’t stop doin' that you’re gonna make it impossible for me to keep resistin' you woman!" He growls out between gritted teeth.

"Sorry!" She says, giving him a last squeeze before letting go and putting her hand on his chest to balance herself while she leans up to kiss him sweetly before pausing and gazing into his eyes searchingly.

"Come here..." she whispers against his lips, taking his hand and leading him through the bathroom and back into the bedroom.

When they reach the bed he opens his mouth to speak but she pulls him down and kisses him, answering his unspoken question when she takes him into her hand again and slowly strokes his length as she slides her tongue into his mouth.

"I thought..." he starts as their kiss breaks before being overrun by Jayda.

"We have a little time..." she tells him as she pushes him down to sit on the bed, instantly climbing into his lap and pushing him back down onto his back, kissing him energetically.

"Jay..." he moans out, his hands coming to her hips to help her balance as she grinds herself over his rock hard member, her breaths coming as pants already.

"El, move onto the bed properly" she requests, moving with him until they’re in the middle of the bed.

Once they’re comfortable she leans down over him, kissing him passionately and playing with his nipples, making him moan into their kiss while she rubs against his cock, her wetness smearing all over his cock and lower belly, making it obvious thatshe is as highly aroused as he is, reinforcing the idea he has in his mind about why her scent has changed.

"Jay, need you now!" He growls out holding her hips still and thrusting up into her firmly, making her throw her head back and moan loudly while she digs her fingers into his pecs to balance herself.

"Oh Eliot! YES!" She cries as she starts sliding along him, using a bouncing motion to ride him and have him thrust into her firmly before bringing his hands up, placing them on her breasts and encouraging him to tease her.

"Damn! you always feel so good for me, never felt anythin' this good before, want to keep feelin' it for the rest of my life!" He praises her, massaging her breasts and playing with her nipples while she bounces on him.

"Eliot! Best thing I ever felt, havin' you inside of me! Want you to do it to me again, make me Yours, make me your Mate, make me your **Bitch** , make me _Pregnant_!" She begs, stopping bouncing and starting to grind backwards and forwards on him instead, her head hanging forwards and her hair curtaining her face from him, although her voice lets him know that she’s nearly in tears.

"Hey what’s wrong?" He asks, pushing her hair back behind her ear and stroking his thumb over her cheekbone.

"I... I just... I want it, so much... want to make you happy, make us both happy.... and I don’t know if I can!" She confesses, grinding harder against him as she does.

"I want it too, but if it doesn’t happen it’s ok, I’ll still love you just the same, I’ll still want you just the same, you’ll be Mine, always!" He promises her before pulling her down so that he can kiss her thoroughly and show her how much he loves her while thrusting up into her.

"Ah! Eliot!" She moans out, pushing herself up and sitting back onto him, making sure his whole length is inside of her before starting a furious pace grinding down onto him, her thighs clenching against his hips as she moves, her head tipping back as she holds onto his arms tightly, using them for leverage and balance, quickly she’s panting and moaning and he knows she’s close so he slides his thumb in between his pelvis and her clit, rubbing hard as she begins to shake and cries out "Oh! Eliot! Yes!" As she cums.

"Yes! my baby! C'mere!" He rasps, pulling her down onto his chest and holding her tightly, stroking her back comfortingly as she catches her breath, letting out the occasional sniffle while he continues to thrust into her slowly and gently.

Once she’s caught her breath Eliot slowly rolls them until she’s on her back and he’s laid in the cradle of her thighs, slowly moving in and out of her while he kisses her slowly but passionately, caressing her face and neck softly, showing her nothing but love and devotion, bringing tears to her eyes before whispering to her "I love you, you’re everythin'" making the tears overflow and streak down towards her ears from the corners of her eyes.

"Oh baby no!" He soothes her, stilling his movements and kissing her slowly and gently, taking his time and showing his love for her before asking "what’s wrong darlin'?" While he looks into her wide eyes.

"Nuthin', I’m just so lucky to have you, I love you Eliot" She answers, Smiling radiantly up at him before adding "please, love me, show me how much you want me?"

At her words he smiles back down at her and starts to move again, gliding gently into her as he kisses her, starting slowly before his passion gets the better of him and he becomes more demanding in both his kisses and his movements, before long he’s devouring her mouth and his hips are rocking into her roughly, slamming his pelvis against her clit as his length drags over her swollen g-spot.

"Yes! Eliot! So perfect!" She calls out when their kiss finally breaks, her muscles squeezing down on his swollen cock as he moves within her, making him groan as he nips at her Bond scar, which makes her arch up against him while pulling him hard into her by grabbing his ass, both of them feeling the pleasure of the other through the Bond as they spiral closer to their orgasms.

"Jay, wanna Breed you... can I? Am I worthy? Will y' give me a son this time?" He asks, telling her how high her standing is in his eyes and how much he wants to build a family with her.

"Eliot, yes! Of course you’re worthy! I’m the one who’s not! And I would love to give you a son, but I can’t promise it!" She answers, sending all the love she feels for him over the Bond to him, making him gasp in reaction to so much emotion before sending his love back to her.

"Love you..." they say, both at the same time making them both smile at each other, as they do Eliot moves to his knees and rises up over her while still thrusting into her hard and fast, grabbing her hips so that he can use them to pull her towards him so he can put even more force behind his thrusts.

"Eliot! Gonna... gonna cum!" She wails, digging her nails into his thighs as if trying to pull him deeper into her as she clenches down on him harshly making his knot expand quickly and lodge inside of her before she’s even finished cumming.

At the feel of his knot expanding inside of her and pushing against all her sensitive spots she cums again, her muscles releasing for a couple of seconds before tightening down again even harsher than before, crushing his knot inside of her and forcing him to cum, spurting so hard he feels like his knot is trying to come out of the end of his dick.

"AHHH! Mine! My Mate!" He shouts out in a growl before leaning over her and biting her high on the neck, hard.

"Ahh! Eliot! What are you doin'?" She cries, surprised by the Mating style bite he’s given her.

As he draws back after licking over the bite a few times he frowns down at her before saying "sorry, I got carried away" and laying back down over her so that he can start kissing her again, starting out gently but quickly growing in passion.

Before five minutes have passed with them kissing passionately he starts trying to thrust into her again, even though his knot is still swollen and stopping him from moving he keeps trying.

"Eliot stop, you’re startin' to hurt me, and I can’t believe you’re still horny, not after that!" She tells him, his hips stopping moving the moment she tells him it’s hurting.

"But I do want you again, I just... I need to have you again..." he answers looking rather bewildered himself at his answer "I just can’t help it, I’ve never felt like this before, I need you..." he continues, stroking her cheek softly before leaning down to kiss her gently.

"What’s happenin' to us? You keep knottin' me and we can’t get enough of each other, even more than normal, what could it be?" She asks sounding distressed even as she tightens her arms around his neck and pulls him down for a passionate kiss.

"I think we need to talk to your dad..." he tells her when the kiss breaks before leaning in and nipping her Bond scar.

"You think there’s somethin' wrong don’t you?" She asks.

"No, but I think we need to ask him about this, just to be sure" he answers before kissing her on the nose.

"I think you might be able to pull out now" she tells him, then leans up to kiss him sweetly as he pulls back out of her making quite a mess.

"Wait a sec!" He says before running into the bathroom and grabbing a washcloth to clean her up with.

Once she’s cleaned up they head into the bathroom to each clean up at their own sink, once Eliot’s clean he turns to watch Jayda as she finishes up.

"Hey, does your thigh need a dressin' on it again?" He asks, thinking of the bite he’d left on her the night before.

"No, it’s healed enough it doesn’t need it" She tells him with a smile, stretching her leg out to the side to show him that the bite has sealed over, also giving him a good view of her swollen aroused clit peeking out of her short pubic hair, making him turn away quickly to try to control the urge to have her again.

"What’s wrong?" She asks, wondering why he turned away so quickly.

"Tryin' to resist temptation" he tells her, looking her in her white/blue eyes as he answers.

"Oh! Lets get dressed then" she says blushing shyly as she looks away before Eliot leads her out of the bathroom, each of them going to get underwear and clothes of their own without looking at each other, trying to resist the pull between them.

Once they’re both dressed they come together for a quick, gentle kiss before Eliot rebandages her splint brace and heads downstairs and grabs what they need before heading to Diwali’s, as they reach the door Eliot stops Jayda and asks "are we ok?"

"Of course we are, I’m just tryin' to not get us started again is all, everythin' is fine, I love you" She reassures him before leaning up to kiss him gently, taking her time and showing him how loved he is.

"I love you too" he replies when their kiss breaks, Smiling down at her before opening the door and ushering her and Wahya out so they can get to her fathers house to make dinner.


	42. Heat is rising...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quinn goes shopping for some interesting items and Jayda and Eliot raise the temperature cooking in Diwali’s kitchen when they make a family meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in honour of Mr Kane’s birthday earlier this month and the fact that I’ve just started chapter FIFTY here is the next chapter, my CFS is still bad but I’m managing to work around it so hopefully it won’t be long before I give y’all the next chapter.
> 
> As for the fact I’ve just started chapter fifty I have to say I’m shocked, I expected this to be five to seven chapters when I started writing so you can imagine how shocked I am to reach fifty, I hope y’all are still enjoying this and you’ll stay with me for the rest of the journey, remember there will be more stories so hit subscribe at the top of the 'Eliot’s surprises' story list page so you don’t miss any.
> 
> Thank you all for your kind kudos and comments, you really do keep me going without those comments and kudos I would have given up on this, so thank you, you’re all wonderful!
> 
> So... enjoy darlin's!

QUINN

When Quinn arrives at the mall he’s dismayed to find it even more packed than it was during his last visit and the thought of navigating through all the people nearly has him turning away, but he really wants to share this part of himself with Ruby, wants her to know every facet of himself and the best way to do that is to brave the crowds and buy what they need, so he takes a deep breath and dives into the river of stressed, sweaty, humans, heading against the tide to the adult store he’d found during his last visit.

Once he finally arrives at the adult store he wanders through looking at the 'sexy' lingerie thinking how tacky most of it looks, but then he spies a set that isn’t tacky and cheap looking, it looks innocent, sexy and elegant so Quinn goes over and searches the rail for a set in Ruby’s size, once he’s found one he continues on into the 'marital aids' section, looking through the dildos and vibrators before coming to the strap ons, as he reaches out to take a box down and read it an over enthusiastic sales girl chirps up "is there anythin' in particular you’re lookin' for today sir?"

Quinn jumps a little and then turns to her saying deadpan "Well I’m looking for the cookware section" with his most serious face on, but when he sees how confused the young salesgirl is he breaks into a sunny smile and says "just joking, I’m looking for a strap on for my wife, something long with a medium girth" making the sales girl smile back.

"Oh well, if you’re lookin' for a longish length i’d recommend this one, it’s got a decent girth although some find it a little slim, it depends on what the person receivin' is used to, also you said it’s for your wife? Do you mean for her to wear? Because if so we’ve just got a range in that have a vibrator for the wearer so that they get off too, or there’s always the strapless strap ons that are very good for gettin' the wearer off, which type do you think you’d be most interested in?" She asks him, overwhelming him a little at the info dump.

"I’m not sure, i’d never realised there were so many types, can you show me your top recommendation for each type that fits the length and girth I’ve already told you I’m looking for?" He answers, a little surprised there are so many types and wondering how a strapless strap on works.

"Of course sir, if you just come over to this chair I’ll get my top picks for you to examine" She answers before bustling off and picking various boxes off the shelves before returning to him where he’s seated.

As she talks him through each of her picks and their pros and cons he’s surprised to find that the thought of them being used on him is arousing him considerably, especially when he considers Ruby being the one wielding them.

After talking through each of the types of strap ons he decides 'what the hell!' And turns to the perky salesgirl.

"I’ll take all three please, give her a choice of what she’d like to use" he tells the salesgirl smiling broadly, and handing her the lingerie too.

"Is there anythin' else you’d like?" She asks him smiling in return.

"Well.... do you have any cockrings?" He asks, blushing just a little.

"Sure! What type and size are you thinkin' of? We have metal, rubber and silicone in a range of sizes and some adjustable ones too" She informs him, but this time he knows what he wants.

"I want a set of silicone of different sizes, do you have them?" He asks with another blush.

"Yes we have just the thing, do you want them in black, blue or red?" She asks.

"You choose I don’t mind" he tells her as he reaches for his wallet before reconsidering, thinking that maybe he can encourage Ruby to experiment with pleasuring herself if he buys her some toys.

"Actually, can you tell me which is your strongest vibrator? And do you have any clit pumps?" He asks when the girl returns.

"Are you wantin' a dildo style vibrator or a clitoral? And as for clit pumps are we talkin' temporary enlargement or permanent such as a transgender would use?" She asks showing what a wide knowledge she has of their products.

"The vibrator can be either, just the strongest you have, as for the pump probably a permanent might be better as she naturally has a rather... protruding clit" he tells her before she darts off again.

When she returns she has the items he asked for and a small bottle "What’s that?" He asks her looking at the small bottle of clear liquid.

"Well I realised that with so many toys you might need some hypoallergenic toy cleaner, just to keep everythin' fresh, would you like the toy cleaner?" She explains, impressing him greatly with her professionalism and thoughtfulness.

"Yes I definitely would, I can’t believe I never thought of that! Thank you!" He says smiling at her.

"Well if that’s everythin' the total comes to five hundred and sixty dollars, would you like them all in one bag?" She asks before winking at him playfully.

"One bag's fine, here’s my credit card" he says, leaning over to type his PIN number in.

"Here you go sir I hope you have a great night, she’s a very lucky woman" the salesgirl says handing him his credit card and receipt before finishing packing his bag, when she goes to hand it to him he holds out a fifty dollar bill and says "this is for you, for being so helpful and thoughtful, you have a good night too"

"I.. i... I can’t take that! I didn’t do anythin' special!" She says staring wide eyed at the bill in his fingers.

"Yes you can, you’ve been very kind and helpful and you went way beyond your job description, accept my thanks for it, please?" He says holding the note closer to her until she tentatively takes it.

"Thank you sir, I really do hope you have an amazin' night!" She says smiling shyly.

"My name’s Quinn, you’ll see me again, maybe with my wife next time" he tells her before turning and heading out of the store and into the heaving mass of people panicking over Christmas so that he can head home.

ELIOT/JAYDA/DIWALI

After a quick stop at the grocery store Eliot and Jayda arrive at Diwali’s house and Jayda lets them in with her key, they pile their supplies on the kitchen counters and both stop to take a breath and remove their coats and boots and Wahya’s newly bought leash.

Once Jayda’s hung up her coat she comes back to the bags and starts to unpack the food they’ve bought, just as she’s starting the second bag Eliot comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, giving her a squeeze before starting to kiss and nip at her neck.

"Eliot! Why are you.... _ohhhh_..." she asks before being turned in his arms and kissed gently and lovingly making her moan as she feels his rock hardness against her lower belly.

"I want you... _need_ you... please?" He asks, the last word sounding like a whine.

"We can’t, not here, you know that, an' we need to make dinner... I want you too... so much... but we just can’t now, when we get home we’ll go all night, I promise" she tells him before leaning up to kiss him, the kiss going on longer than planned and becoming more passionate by the moment until Jayda is leaned back over the counter as Eliot holds her up by bracing one hand on the counter while the other presses against her spine supporting her.

Just as Eliot starts to grind his hard cock against her the kitchen door opens and Diwali comes in, as he flips his hood back off his head he stares at them in silence for a long moment.

"Well, that happened sooner than I expected!" He declares before going to hang his coat up and remove his boots, stopping to pet Wahya on the head along the way.

"Dad, it wasn’t what you think! we were only kissin'!" Jayda says, self-consciously rubbing at her mouth.

"I know you were only kissing, that wasn’t what I was talking about..." Diwali answers as he comes around the counter and starts unpacking a bag.

"So what _did_ you mean?" Eliot asks, standing at the breakfast bar.

"You coming into rut and heat together, I expected it to be a month or two yet, I guess it’s down to the transfusion and Jayda fully changing" Diwali answers leaving them both speechless.

"What?! I just had my rut! Are you sure?" Eliot asks, absolutely shocked.

"I’m sure, first ruts and heats together are often out of sync to the normal cycle for each of them, it’s just the hormones readjusting, you’re only in pre-rut and pre-heat now, in three days you’ll be inseparable, literally" Diwali tells them before continuing "but the heat/rut will only last three or four days rather than a week, or at least that’s the usual in these cases" he finishes.

"It’s goin' to get _worse_?" Jayda asks looking aghast.

"Yes, at least twice as bad although most say four or five times as strong an urge, as I’m sure Eliot can tell you" her father replies looking at her sympathetically.

She turns to look at Eliot just to get an emphatic nod in return, making her turn a little pale as she fully realises the implications.

" _Oh..._ " She says in a small voice before leaning against the counter heavily.

"So what’s for dinner?" Diwali asks trying to change the subject.

"Oh, Erm... steak, ale and vegetable casserole with cream an' garlic mashed potatoes" Eliot answers as he shakes himself and starts washing vegetables.

"Right well I’ll leave you two to it while I go have a shower and get changed, try not to get distracted Ok?" Diwali says before heading out of the kitchen and upstairs to his bedroom.

" _Jay_..." Eliot says, coming and catching her up in his arms before resuming kissing her passionately.

"Eliot! We can’t... not now..." she says breathlessly, a note of begging in her voice, but whether it’s begging him to stop or continue even she doesn’t know.

" _But_..." he starts between kisses.

"No, when we get home, all night remember? But until then you’ve gotta behave, ok?" She insists, reminding him of the promise she made him.

"Ok, I promise, what do you want me to do?" He says, waiting for her to give him orders on what to prepare first.

*******************************************************************

Once dinner is cooking and the table has been laid Diwali asks to have a word with them.

"Eliot, I spoke to the Elder Council today regarding you and the fact you are the True Alpha, at first they were disbelieving, but once I told them about Jayda there was no room for argument any longer, they have requested you present yourself before them tomorrow night, with your Mate, and discuss a plan of action against the one hunting the weres in the area" Diwali tells them both.

"How did the Alpha of the Pack take it?" Eliot asks, worrying he may end up being challenged even though he wants no part in ruling the tribe Pack.

"Not very well, he’s been trying to claim being a True Alpha because of his wolf's size for some time now, and having the real True Alpha show up has ruined that for him, he’s trying to claim you cannot be the True Alpha because you’re not really one of the Pack, but the Elders see this for what it is, simple jealousy and fear of losing his position, but he was mollified somewhat by the news you had no interest in ruling the Pack, just protecting it, as you and your True Alpha Mate would be away from here most of the time" Diwali explains, easing Eliot’s mind a little.

"Are they wantin' a formal presentation? You know that’s gonna be hard for Jayda" Eliot asks tightening the hug he already has around Jayda’s waist.

"Wait! What’s a _formal presentation_? And why is it goin' to be hard for me?" Jayda asks, starting to look worried herself.

Eliot looks at Diwali and after a moment gives him a quick nod while cuddling Jayda into his embrace more, worrying her even further.

"A formal presentation is usually performed when a wolf has their first change, they are brought to the Council in their wolf form and shown to the Council, to show that they are a healthy wolf and then they are accepted as a potential member into the tribe Pack, this is usually done by the wolf parent of the child, although in Eliot’s case I stole him away one night and stood in place of his parent, for reasons you know, once they are accepted they change into their human form and are made to swear protection to the lands, tribe and Pack if they wish to be part of the Pack, in this case it would be this for you and acceptance of both of your True Alphahoods by the Council, Eliot is worried about how you’re going to react to being naked in a room full of men when you are asked to change back as you will not be offered a way to cover up as were's don’t have an issue with nudity, and you will be expected to comply, in answer to you Eliot, yes, this is to be a formal presentation and you will both be expected to be presented, is there going to be a problem?" Diwali explains gently to his daughter.

"I... I don’t know if I can... if I can do that..." Jayda manages to stammer out, snuggling down and putting her head down under Eliot’s chin, obviously wanting to feel protected by him.

"Is there no way she could get a special allowance after what she’s been through? Just a robe or somethin'?" Eliot begs of Diwali, feeling Jayda shaking in his arms.

"I’ll try my best to get them to allow it, but I can’t promise, I’m sorry Jay" he tells them his face anguished on behalf of his daughter.

"Why don’t you both go and have a lay down until dinners ready, talk about what will happen and comfort each other? I’ll keep the pup company" He offers, knowing that with their being in pre-rut and -heat comfort will probably mean more than kisses and cuddles but not minding, his daughter is an adult after all.

Eliot and Jayda take Diwali up on the offer, leaving Wahya with Diwali and head into her childhood bedroom, closing the door behind them.

ELIOT/JAYDA

"Jay? Are you Ok?" Eliot asks her once the door is closed.

"Yeah, I just... I don’t know if I can do this right now..." she admits, sitting down on the bed heavily.

"I’ll be with you, and they won’t hurt you, even if they did want to I wouldn’t let them, wolf or man i’d kill them all before i’d let a single one of them touch you, I’m never goin' to let anyone hurt you ever again" he reassures her as he sits down next to her, taking her hand, but he sees it doesn’t really allay her fears much.

"Will you hold me? _Please_?" She asks, leaning into him as he wraps his arm around her gently and he kisses the top of her head.

"Jay it’s gonna be ok, I _promise_ " he says before manoeuvring her around so they’re laid on the bed holding each other.

"I know you’ll do your best" she says before tucking her head under his chin and giving him a squeeze around the chest.

Eliot has no answer to that so he lays there, stroking her back and hip before snuggling her closer to him and kissing her head again.

"Jay? Can I kiss you?" He asks, using his chin to nudge her head to lean back so he can dip forward and kiss her softly.

"Eliot! Show me how safe you’ll keep me, show me how much you love me!" She begs, the distressed part of her scent slowly changing while they softly kiss until it becomes the scent of arousal.

"Jayda! Love you!" He whispers before kissing her forcefully but gently, his hand slipping into her hair to cup the back of her head and hold her where he wants her while his other hand grips the hip he’s been stroking and pulls her up against his body.

"Eliot! I love you too, so much more than I can tell you!" She whispers back.

"So then show me" He says encouraging her to lift her knee up over his hip.

" _Yes_!" She breathes into his ear as he pulls her tight to him by that knee. 

After a minute or two of kissing Eliot pulls Jayda over him so she’s laid on top of him, she brings her hands up and slides them into his hair that is spread out over the pillow, turning his head slightly to get him into the position she wants him in as she starts to move her hips, grinding down onto him firmly.

"Mmm, Jay, yes!" He growls out, his teeth already extended and his eyes ringed with gold as he pulls her knee up against his side and grabs her ass roughly, encouraging her movements "can I have you ? Here, in your childhood bed?" He asks her growling roughly in arousal at the thought of it.

" _El_! I... my dad..." she starts before he interrupts.

" _Doesn’t mind_ , he knows we’re on the verge of rut and heat and still sent us into the bedroom for a couple of hours, he’s not an idiot, he knows this is likely to happen, so don’t worry about it, Ok?" Eliot reassures her making a very accurate point.

"O...ok, I want you so much,... and here was where our bond was born, it only seems fittin'" she agrees before leaning down and kissing him again, after a few minutes her hips begin to grind down again, quickly stimulating him to full hardness, making him feel the need to strip them both down to bare skin.

"Here, take this off" he says as he pulls her sweater up her body and over her head, surprised to find she doesn’t have a shirt on underneath, just her bra, a rather cute bra with little cartoon cat heads all over it.

Once the sweater is off Eliot nuzzles his face between her huge hanging breasts, tickling her with his stubble as he kisses and nips at each of them before moving down to the surgery scar just below them, again marvelling at how the diamond shaped scars are barely visible now and the surgery scars are fully healed already.

"Jay, sit up and undo your jeans for me" He asks as he pulls his shirt and undershirt up his torso ready to take off.

"Let me up and I’ll take them off while you take yours off" She replies, swinging her leg back over his and standing up next to the bed before undoing and slowly lowering her skintight jeans, pulling them off over her feet as Eliot pushes his off his feet and pulls his shirts off over his head, leaving him in just his boxers.

"Under the blankets" Jayda requests before following him under them herself once he has gotten snuggled under them.

"Are you cold? Is that why you wanna be under the blankets?" He asks in concern, worried about her getting too cold.

"A little, but it’s more I’m worried about dad not thinkin' and just walkin' in on us" she confesses, blushing brightly at the thought.

"I totally understand, I don’t want him walkin' in on us either, blanket or not, but so long as you’re not too cold that’s what matters" he says pulling her tight up against his side and kissing her softly, his hands soon roaming down her back to her ass, as he turns on his side and pulls her groin up against his before grinding against her firmly, never breaking their kiss once.

"El! Want you!" She whispers when their lips separate, her hand trailing down his front until she can encircle his straining flesh, giving him a stroke that makes him moan deep in his throat, causing her to kiss his neck, feeling the vibrations from his moan trembling against her lips.

"Gods, Jay, _yes_! Want you so bad, just wanna love you and Breed you forever, never get out of this bed again, just forget about anythin' that’s not each other" He whispers back forcefully, letting her know how much he means it.

After his declaration Eliot slowly rolls onto his back again, pulling her with him until she’s laid on top of him, kissing him passionately as if she hadn’t noticed them moving at all except for moving her hand back up to his chest, then slowly bringing her knees up on either side of his hips and starting to grind down onto his rock hard cock again as their kiss continues.

"Oh _Eliot_! Always so hard for me!" She pants as their kiss ends, her hips starting to move faster, grinding down in a mostly backwards and forwards movement.

"Can’t help it! You always look so sexy and smell so fuckin' good, can’t help wantin' to Breed you constantly" he replies, his love shining in his eyes as he leans up to kiss her again.

"You need to take those off" he tells her breathlessly, tugging at her panties that don’t match the cute bra.

"Why don’t you get them off me?" She replies before winking at him.

"You attached to them in any way?" He checks making sure she means what he thinks she means.

"Nope, they’re just cheap mass-made cotton panties, they’re in no way special" she tells him before licking her lips seductively and reaching around behind her back and undoing her bra one handed, so she can use the other hand to fondle his balls at the same time, while she slowly lets her bra drop off her breasts and she throws it onto the floor with the rest of their clothes.

"Ggggrrrr" he growls out, the sight of her revealing herself to him, the feeling of her fondling him and the permission to do as he wants with her being too much for him to keep a rein on his wolf properly, within moments he’s torn her panties to shreds and has pulled her down into a kiss again while he shuffles and squirms his way out of his boxers so that he can rub his bare cock against her sopping wet opening, exciting them both.

As they kiss he rubs his length along her slit, making a point to grind over her clit on every pass, making her moan quietly into their kiss which makes him growl in response, all his possessive instincts coming to the fore at the sounds of her pleasure.

When she breaks their kiss to sit up and take some deep breaths he takes hold of her breasts and rubs over the nipples, making her grind down harder onto him as he grinds upwards against her, making her moan again, and he can’t help but notice that the room is starting to smell like cinnamon sugar cookies, a smell that is always going to turn him on now that it's her heat-scent.

"Jayda, C’mere, I wanna kiss you while I take you" He demands, watching her gold-ringed eyes dilate at the idea as she leans over and kisses him demandingly, Eliot using the position to slide the head of his cock along her slit and into her, making her gasp against his lips at the sensation of being filled by her Mate, how they were meant to be.

He slowly starts shallowly thrusting into her, being careful not to push too hard too quickly because he doesn’t want to hurt her and as wet as she is he doesn’t want to risk it after everything they’ve been through.

Before long Eliot has worked his way all the way into her, but he’s still going slow, taking his time on every thrust making sure they both feel everything there is to feel, both the physical and the emotional as they kiss and touch each other and share those sensations across the Bond.

"Eliot, I’m... I’m gettin' close.... please don’t let me shout, please?" She begs not wanting her dad to hear or even worse come to find out what’s going on.

"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s ok, come here I’m gonna roll us..." He promises, taking tight hold of her and rolling them so that he’s on top of her, smiling down into her face before kissing her sweetly as his hips continue their slow deep thrusts into her.

While they kiss Jayda’s hands come to his ass and start trying to pull him in deeper, even though he’s already as deep as he can go and before long she starts to whine in her throat obviously needing something more to get her off.

"Eliot, _please_!" She begs, even though she doesn’t know what exactly she’s begging for, luckily Eliot does and leans into her neck, getting a deep breath of her new scent as he does, making him lick up her neck to get a taste of it in her sweat before leaning in again and biting right over where he licked, just above her Bonding bite, her reaction is instantaneous, she tightens down on him and gasps a deep breath in, he knows she’s gonna shout so clamps his hand down over her mouth to muffle her as she screams into his hand and gushes over his cock, soaking the bed.

Once she stops screaming he moves his hand to next to her head so that she can take some deep gasping breaths in, as he pulls back from her neck making sure he hasn’t done any real damage before licking over the bite to encourage it to start healing.

"You Ok?" He asks in a whisper before leaning in to give her a sweet brief kiss.

"Yeah, I’m great, are you Ok?" She asks in reply, just as quietly as he did before kissing him back.

"I’m perfect, you ready for me to carry on?" He says as he rests his forehead on hers "I wanna make love to you some more...." he continues, staring into her eyes.

"Yes! Please make love to me more!" She requests, tipping her head back to bring their lips together gently.

At her answer he starts moving within her again, slowly at first as they kiss at the same slow speed, before adding a little more force and speed to both his kisses and his thrusts.

While he rests on his elbows above her, leaning down to kiss her as he thrusts she wraps her arms around his waist, stroking his hips, spine and butt gently in encouragement before nipping his lips just a little with her teeth, making him moan and kiss her slightly more aggressively while he slides his hands into her hair, then uses them to tip her head so that he can nip at her neck softly before licking over her Bond scar making her moan in return.

"Eliot!" She moans, using his hair to pull his head up to be able to kiss him, invading his mouth with her tongue, stroking at his tongue gently until he takes over and thrusts his tongue into her mouth in a fight for dominance, his thrusts becoming a little more forceful as his kisses do.

When he finally breaks their kiss he growls into her ear and pulls one of her knees up until it’s alongside his hip, opening her more to deeper thrusts as he hooks his arm under her knee to hold her in that position.

" _Jay_! Gods I need you! Always so wet for me!" He growls, stepping up the speed of his thrusts before biting over her Bond bite gently, just squeezing it enough to make her tighten down on him, making his movements feel more intense for both of them.

"Mmmm El, want you to make me cum again!" She whispers into his ear before nipping the lobe gently.

"My pleasure, how do you wanna cum?" He asks before kissing her and tipping her hips up more with the arm under her knee.

"Want you to go slow and deep, but let go of my leg, I wanna wrap my legs around your waist" She tells him, making him release her leg immediately as he kisses her long and deep, showing his passion for her.

Once her leg is free she wraps her legs around his waist, hooking her feet together behind his back so that she can pull herself up, so their hips align and every move he makes rubs her clit with his pelvis, hard.

"Oh Eliot _yes_!" She gasps out, that intense feeling of pressure growing within her chest while her clit gives pleasure that spirals upwards, leaving her breathless.

As he thrusts into her she begins lifting her own hips, rubbing against him even as he thrusts into her, the feeling of her moving against him stoking his arousal, knowing that she is so turned on and stimulated by him that she just can’t keep still but needs to rub against him even more such a turn on, as he grinds down into her he kisses her again, a deep passion filled kiss that pushes both of them closer to the edge.

"Eliot... gonna.... gonna cum...." she whines out, tipping her hips to just the right angle for him to grind directly over her clit hard, making her tighten down on him, so close to tipping over the edge that he suddenly speeds up the movements of his hips, hammering down into her and crushing her clit between the two of them quickly pushing her over the edge.

"AH! ELIOT! I’m...mrrm..." she starts to shout before he covers her mouth as he continues hammering into her, prolonging her orgasm as he chases his own until his knot suddenly expands, the feeling of it suddenly filling her pushing her over the edge again, her sudden squeeze of his inflated flesh making him cum so strongly he convulses over her as he follows her over the edge, spurting into her over and over again, the feeling of his hot cum filling her making her moan loudly.

"Are you Ok? Can you keep your legs wrapped around me while we’re tied together?" He asks once they’ve caught their breath a little, gently kissing her then moving to lick over her Bond scar carefully.

"I’m brilliant, and yes I’m ok stayin' like this" She answers then gasps at his licking of her scar making her tighten down on him again causing him to groan, right before there’s a knock on the door and it swings open to reveal Diwali.

"Is everything ok? I heard you shouting...." He asks before trailing off as it’s obvious what they’ve been doing.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude...." he says backing out of the room again before adding "dinner will be about a half hour" and closing the door properly leaving the couple in the bed both blushing brightly.

"Well that was somethin' I hoped i’d never experience" Jayda says before burying her face into his neck to hide.

"Me too" Eliot answers, kissing her shoulder and her neck before kissing her temple softly.

"I love you" He whispers into her hair before kissing her temple again then pulling up so he can look down into her face.

"You Ok? Comfortable?" He asks before leaning in and kissing her passionately, his hips trying to move as she kisses him back, the stimulation this causes around his knot making him start to spurt again.

"I’m good and yes I am comfortable when you stay still!" She replies once he breaks their kiss, then grabbing his ass and pulling him tight against herself before recapturing his lips in a searing kiss.

"Oh, _Jay_..." he moans, nipping at her lips and grinding his pelvis against her clit as hard as he can without moving inside her, making her tighten down on him again.

After a few minutes interspersed with passionate kisses and him grinding against her she pushes him up by the shoulders and says "we gotta stop, it’s only twenty minutes til dinner and you’re not gonna untie from me unless we stop, please"

"I know you’re right but I just..." Eliot starts, dipping his head down and trying to kiss her.

"I know but we can’t, remember my promise, we get through dinner and get home and we can go all night and all day if you want to" she promises him after evading his kiss.

"Ok, can I kiss you now?" He asks gently, leaning in and kissing her slowly and sweetly when she nods, smiling into his eyes.

They carry on kissing lovingly until they both feel his knot start to loosen and deflate allowing him to eventually pull out, making even more mess on the bed.

"Sorry" He rasps out as he lays down beside her, pulling her against his chest and kissing her lovingly as he strokes down her spine.

"It’s ok, I already made a mess, it doesn’t matter" She answers before kissing him back and snuggling against his chest.

"We should get up...." she whispers before kissing him again and stroking down the side of his face.

"Yeah ok, you use the bathroom first, alright?" He tells her then helps her to stand up on shaky legs.

As she wanders into the adjoined bathroom he lays back on the bed and takes a deep breath, blowing it out and trying to fight against the urge to follow her and have her again, a fight he doesn’t totally win as his cock starts to rise again, much to his frustration.

"Hey, bathrooms free, do you need anythin'?" She says as she heads over to a chest of drawers, looking for panties.

"Just you...." He answers, coming up behind her and grinding against her ass while kissing her neck.

"We can’t now, I can feel how much you want this but you’ve got to wait until we’re at home, please" She tells him, turning in his arms and kissing him chastely before stepping back out of his gentle hold.

"Ok, I’ll go wash up, I love you" He says, pulling her back in for a gentle hug as he tells her he loves her, then letting go and heading into the bathroom.

By the time he comes out Jayda is fully dressed and stripping the covers off the bed ready for them to be washed, making him blush a little as he dresses.

Once he’s fully dressed and has tied back his hair they exit the room and head to the kitchen where they find Diwali watching over dinner.

ELIOT/JAYDA/QUINN/RUBY/DIWALI

"Erm... hi Dad... I’m sorry about earlier... we were tryin' to be quiet... I just..." Jayda stammers out, Eliot taking her hand in silent support and shared shame.

"Jay, Eliot, it’s ok, you’re adults, I’m sorry I walked in, I should have known better, it’s ok, do I need to wash the sheets?" Diwali apologises before asking a question that has Jayda hiding her face in Eliot’s neck where he has his arm around her.

"Oh...Erm, yes sir" Eliot answers turning crimson, just as he hangs his head in embarrassment Sarah comes barrelling through the kitchen door straight into his and Jayda’s legs nearly knocking Jayda over, only Eliot’s hold on her keeping her upright.

"DADDY! MOMMY! I MISSED YOU!" She yells, wrapping her arms around Eliot’s legs and squeezing tightly.

"We missed you too Bug, can you let go a second?" Eliot asks before bending down and picking her up when she lets go, just as he comes upright Quinn comes through the door carrying Jane with Ruby following behind.

Once all the greetings are done everyone except Eliot and Diwali sit at the table, each of the girls telling stories to Jayda about what they’ve been doing while the two men finish dinner and Quinn and Ruby sit holding hands and smiling at each other.

"Wow that’s so cool! What are you both up to tomorrow then?" Jayda asks in an excited voice.

"Mommy said daddy can take us out ridin'!" Jane pipes up before looking at Sarah to check she was ok to say that.

"Well that sounds like fun!" Jayda replies before smiling at both of the girls, just then Diwali brings two plates and puts them down in front of the girls before going back to get his own as Eliot serves Quinn and Ruby then returns for his and Jayda’s.

Once they’re all sat at the table everyone takes the hands of those on either side of them and bows their heads "Ancestors we thank you for the bounty brought forth to us, we thank the Mother Earth and Father Sky for their kindnesses to us, we love all as all love us and we are thankful to have this time with all of us together, with our thanks" Diwali prays before being answered by those around the table "with thanks" then everyone tucks into their meals with plenty of chattering.

When the meal is finished and the girls have gone to watch a movie the five adults sit and talk, about the wedding, plans for any honeymoon Quinn and Ruby want, when they’re all heading back to Portland, Christmas plans and about what will happen the next night during the Council meeting, Quinn getting rather angry at the presentation part of the description.

"Surely they can make an exception under the circumstances!" He says glaring at Diwali a little.

"This isn’t father’s fault or choice Quinn!" Jayda answers, appreciating that Quinn is concerned for her but not wanting him to blame her father for something that is beyond his control.

"I know" Quinn answers calming down a little "but he’s on the council, can’t he dissuade them from doing this?" He asks looking to the old man.

"I’m trying, but they don’t want to bend on this..." Diwali answers quietly and calmly.

"Bunch of..." Quinn starts before being interrupted by Jayda.

" **Quinn**! This is how things are done here, you live as one of us, you respect our ways, Ok?" Jayda asks forcefully.

"Ok, I just don’t think it’s right or fair" he answers obviously needing to have the last word.

The slightly charged air is cut when Jane comes in and says "Sarah fell asleep again" getting everyone’s attention.

"How’s her ankle?" Jayda asks, still feeling guilty about it.

"It’s a lot better, I wouldn’t be letting them go riding if it wasn’t, it’s still a bit raw but it’s healing well" Ruby answers.

"I’m glad" Jayda answers with a smile.

"We should probably get going if Sarah’s asleep" Quinn says standing.

"Yeah get the girls home, I’ll see you both soon Ok?" Jayda answers, also standing up and coming to give Jane a cuddle before hugging Ruby then Quinn, Eliot following suit but with a handshake to Quinn.

Once Quinn has Sarah and has taken the girls to the truck Ruby says goodbye and follows him out, leaving just Jayda, Eliot, Diwali and Wahya.

"You guys should make a move too, do you want me to keep Wahya here or do you want to take him with you?" Diwali asks.

"We’ll take him with us, but thanks for the offer Dad, love you!" Jayda answers giving her father a tight hug before taking hold of Eliot’s hand "we’ll see you tomorrow night, Ok?" She says, opening the door when Diwali nods at her before Eliot whistles and Wahya comes and precedes them out of the door.

Once they’re at the truck Eliot lifts Wahya into the cab before helping Jayda in and climbing behind the wheel himself, then they set off for home.


End file.
